In the years since she stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and delivered The Hill We Climb to a global audience, Amanda Gorman has watched her work take on a life of its own—both as an inspiration and as a target. While the poem catapulted her into literary prominence, it has also become embroiled in America’s culture wars, with some schools restricting access to it. For Gorman, the backlash is not just about her words but about the broader effort to silence diverse voices in literature.
The decision by a Florida elementary school in 2023 to limit access to her inaugural poem was a stark reminder of the shifting political landscape around books. “I understood that book bans were happening, but this hit me so incredibly hard,” she said. The move reinforced her growing awareness of how censorship affects young readers, particularly those who seek reflections of themselves in literature. “If a child at that school wanted to read the words spoken at a presidential inauguration, they were being subtly restricted from doing so,” she explained.
Despite the challenges, Gorman remains committed to uplifting future generations through her work. Her latest book, Girls on the Rise, is a picture book aimed at young readers, exploring themes of empowerment and change. “When a child can’t see themselves represented in a story, they can’t dream of their own life or actualize their own hopes,” she said. The increasing wave of book bans, she argues, disproportionately targets authors and characters of color as well as LGBTQ+ voices, effectively erasing entire identities from public discourse.
Looking back at the moment that made her a household name, Gorman recalls how the final lines of The Hill We Climbtook shape on January 6, 2021, as she processed the violent attack on the Capitol. “To be honest, when I wrote it, I had no idea it was going to reverberate and resonate in the way it did,” she said. Now, four years later, that poem continues to spark conversation—both as a rallying cry for hope and as a flashpoint for ideological battles over education and free expression.
For Gorman, her legacy will not be defined by the controversy but by the power of language to shape the future. Through books like Change Sings, Something, Someday, and Call Us What We Carry, she continues to use poetry as a force for connection and social change. Holding onto one of her most quoted lines—”What just is, isn’t always justice”—she sees her work as a reminder that the present moment does not define the possibilities of the future.
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