Gorman’s poetic rise

Amanda Gorman is that rarest thing in modern poetry, said Doreen St. Félix in Vogue: a genuine superstar. Since giving an electrifying reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration, the 23-year-old has been flooded with attention. She’s now on first-name terms with Barack and Michelle Obama and refers to her pal Hillary Clinton as “such a grandma.” “Every time I text Oprah,” Gorman says, “I have a mini–heart attack.” The life of a poet is not typically one of financial reward. But Gorman, a Los Angeles native and recent Harvard graduate, estimates that she’s turned down $17 million in endorsement deals since the inauguration. “I didn’t really look at the details,” she says of one offer, “because if you see something and it says a million dollars, you’re going to rationalize why that makes sense.” Gorman has been on the ascent for years: She was named the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, and that same year was the apparent inspiration for a brownskinned, poetry-loving American Girl doll named Gabriela. She dreams of being president and is trying to stop apologizing for her ambitions. “I’ve learned that it’s OK to seek greatness. That does not make me a black hole seeking attention. It makes me a supernova.”