The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Williams, Miller. "Of History and Hope." Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47107/of-history-and-hope.

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

Miller Williams was a relatively unknown poet until President Bill Clinton selected him to read a poem at his second inauguration on January 20, 1997. He was a professor of English literature and creative writing at a number of universities, but spent the majority of his life teaching at the University of Arkansas. Clinton, also from Arkansas, selected Williams to read an inaugural poem, making him only the third inaugural poet in American history (preceded by Robert Frost in 1961 and Maya Angelou in 1993). Williams had spina bifida, and struggled with his disability throughout his life. His daughter, Grammy-winning country artist Lucinda Williams, released a song titled "If My Love Could Kill" in 2016 in memory of her father and the suffering he endured. Williams died of Alzheimer's disease in January of 2015.

"Of History and Hope" was written for Clinton's inauguration. It is a poem in four stanzas that questions the future of America and encourages the audience to consider the lives they are building for posterity. Like many inaugural poems, "Of History and Hope" stresses unity, progress, patriotism, and equality.