Amanda Gorman celebrates essential workers in new poem
TAMPA: Amanda Gorman, the young poet who delivered a captivating performance at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, opened the Super Bowl on Sunday with a new work celebrating essential workers.
Gorman became the first-ever poet to perform at the National Football League championship, America’s most-watched broadcast of the year.
In a pre-taped performance, the 22-year-old delivered her poem Chorus of the Captains, paying homage to three people declared honorary captains in the night’s coin toss: an educator, an intensive care nurse and a US Marine Corps veteran.
“They’ve taken the lead / Exceeding all expectations and limitations / Uplifting their communities and neighbours / As leaders, healers and educators,” she said.
Gorman became an international sensation after reciting her original work The Hill We Climb at the inaugural ceremony, a poem inspired by the attack on the US Capitol. The performance saw her work soar to the top of bestseller lists even before their publication, and IMG Models signed her for fashion and beauty campaigns.
The Super Bowl is among the world’s largest stages, with at least 80 million viewers, meaning Gorman’s work will reach an even wider audience than Biden’s inauguration that saw some 40 million tune in.
“Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed,” Gorman tweeted ahead of her performance.