I heard an NPR piece on Ms. Gorman and was looking forward to hearing her. She seemed in that interview and in her poem to be an impressive person. I watched her in the company of my middle school students, who thought she was amazing. Certainly, her poise and delivery were strikingly strong for such a young person (22). The NPR piece suggested one thing that might've drawn Biden to Gorman--besides her status as the nation's first-ever youth PL--was their shared experience of overcoming a speech impediment: Biden's stutter and Gorman's inability to sound the letter R until quite recently.
As to the poem, I like what Chris said about occasional poetry. And Gorman does seem to come mostly from the "spoken-word" corner of our big tent, which may not be my corner. BUT I did appreciate that she was playing with sounds--alliteration, rhyme, etc.--throughout, and I will read the poem eagerly.
Last edited by Simon Hunt; 01-20-2021 at 02:54 PM.
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