The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Gorman, Amanda. “The Hill We Climb.” Maclean’s (Online), St. Joseph Communications, 2021.

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

“The Hill We Climb” is a spoken-word poem written and performed by Amanda Gorman on January 20th, 2021 in recognition of President Joseph R. Biden’s inauguration. Gorman, who was named the United States’ first youth poet laureate in 2017, became the country’s youngest inaugural poet at the age of twenty-two. In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, the country saw unprecedented unrest, culminating in the storming of the United States’ Capitol on January 6th. In light of these events, Gorman revised “The Hill We Climb” to address the conflict.

Following the inauguration’s theme of “America United,” “The Hill We Climb” speaks from the perspective of a communal “we.” The poem begins by acknowledging the challenges the nation has faced in the recent past. Then, the speaker encourages her audience to interpret the current moment as an opportunity to build a better and more united country. Noting that such a hopeful future requires participation and work from every citizen, the poem ends with a call to action for individual bravery despite polarization and adversity.