Have students read “ Art as Resistance, Part 1” and “ Art as Resistance, Part 2” to identify some of the ways creative work can help resist injustice.Provide additional resources for students to better understand the role of creative expression and democracy. How does Gorman describe what “being American” is or isn’t? Why do you think she describes it in this way? What, if anything, might you change or add to her description?.How does she describe herself? Which of her own identities does she name? Why do you think she chooses to name these identities in this poem about American democracy? Look for the moment where Gorman describes herself in the poem.Gorman writes that “the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice.” What do you think this line means? Do you agree? Why or Why not?.What do you think is meant by the phrase “quiet isn’t always peace”? If you had to restate this idea in your own words, how would you say this? Can you think of a time when things have been quiet but not peaceful?.

What is the significance of the poem’s title? What might the “hill” signify in our democracy? Why?.If you’re meeting with students, try having them work individually, in pairs or in a group to answer a few text-dependent questions in their own words. If students are working asynchronously, you may want to provide these questions to help them focus their learning as they read. Have students read (or watch) Amanda Gorman’s poem. Ask them to consider what might influence a president’s choice of poem or poet. Start the conversation by asking what students would expect to hear from poems delivered during presidential inaugurations, the first of which was performed in 1961.Īsk them to consider why performances of poetry were incorporated into inauguration ceremonies in the 20th century. It’s a landmark literary moment, to be sure - and one infused with a contemporary freshness and colour the world so needs today.Here’s how you might start: 1. Her performance is being hailed by trailblazing Black women, including Michelle Obama, Stacey Abrams and Oprah Winfrey, who invokes the memory of the great American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou in praising Gorman, signalling the magnitude of the legacy and torch the young poet is taking up. The full transcript of Gorman’s poem can be read here, and it’s smashing.

Instead Gorman tackled the ugliness of racism head on, in a modern lyrical masterpiece that fuses free verse with spoken word, winding the listener through ancient and recent horrors to conclude on a hopeful call to action: Following the historic swearing in of Kamala Harris as the first woman and woman of colour to the role of Vice President of the United States, Gorman’s poem, entitled ‘The Hill We Climb’, did not gloss over the glaring racial tensions making Democrat Joe Biden’s inauguration so crucial.

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman