In a ceremony regulated to the millimeter and an atmosphere inevitably marked by gravity, she came to bring an unexpected touch of freshness.
Dressed in yellow, wearing a red crown, the young poet Amanda Gorman captivated the public on Wednesday during the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden, with her verses calling for the unity of the United States.
Only 22 years old, the young African-American native of Los Angeles recited a poem of her composition, "The hill we climb" ("The hill we climb"), a reference to Capitol Hill, where supporters of Donald Trump invaded the seat of Congress on January 6.
Her text, which she wrote in one go after this murderous assault, evokes "a force that will break our Nation, rather than share it".
"This effort has almost succeeded / but if democracy may be delayed at times, it cannot be permanently suppressed."
Joe Biden applauds Amanda Gorman after she recites her poem from the podium / Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS.
In a calm voice, she chanted her rhymes, accompanying them with graceful hand movements.
She didn't let anything shine from the stuttering that affected her, like Joe Biden, in her childhood.
And who also pushed her to write, to compensate.
An ode to "United America"
A child prodigy, she won her first poetry prize at age 16, and was crowned America's "best young poet" three years later while studying sociology at Harvard University.
She described herself as "a skinny black girl, descended from slaves, raised by a single mother," who finds herself "reciting" before a president.
Before her, five other poets, including Robert Frost and Maya Angelou, attended the investiture ceremonies of US presidents, but none were so young.
According to the American press, his name was whispered to the organizers of the ceremony by Jill Biden, the wife of the 46th president, who had attended one of his readings.
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Their order, placed in December: that she write an ode to "United America", echoing the speech of the Democrat.
His text bowed to it, without denying the challenges of the present.
“We are going to turn this wounded world into another, wonderful one.
"" There is always light if we are brave enough to see it.
If only we were brave enough to be.
"
Barack and Michelle Obama congratulate Amanda Gorman / Kevin Lamarque / REUTERS
