Call Us What We Carry, Poems by Amanda Gorman

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Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s poem from the 2021 Inauguration, Call Us What We Carry, was formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems.

The poem “The Hill We Climb” is a moving poem she read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden.

Gorman was born on March 7th, 1998, and her stunning performance signals an exciting future for her poetry style and a new voice of influence. (She recently said on the Today show that “she aims to run for the nation's highest office when she becomes eligible in 2036 after passing the requisite age of 35 outlined in the U.S. Constitution”.

Press releases have referred to this book as a “remarkable new collection that reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry bursting with musical language and exploring themes of identity, grief, and memory.”

Not everyone loves or even likes good poetry. I love good poetry, and Gorman’s style is exciting. Her choice of words brings intense focus to her subject, and the rhythm and cadence drive the message. You can hear her voice even as you just read the comments.

One-Hundred And One Famous Poems , Anthology Complied by Roy Cook

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Roy Cook, the editor, said that “the purpose of this little volume is to enrich, ennoble, encourage. And for man, who has learned to love convenience, it is hardly larger than his concealing pocket.”

The book's selection of poems is exceptional. On more than one occasion, I have sat waiting for a speaker, viewed as an intellectual, to go to the podium and then weave into their subject the value of poetry.

Talking about poetry leads to the thought that everyone should commit some poems to memory. The reason and logic for this is, at least, the idea that people have memorized and recited poetry since ancient times.

Another good reason is that if a poem’s message is to be taken to heart, it is said that a person should know it by heart.

This collection is a must-have for those who appreciate poetry. The book is full of surprises. I will offer a poem I was glad to find.

Not in Vain

By Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life from aching, Cool one in pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.

You can see the poem “In Flanders Fields” on page 11 of the book or click to link to the poetry section.

The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Opportunity by Edward R. Sill, Out to Old Aunt Mary’s by James Whitcomb Riley, Each and All by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson, and The Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Francis William Burdillon are just a few of the 101 diverse and captivating poems in this collection.