我们越过高山 (2021)

"The Hill We Climb" is a spoken word poem written by American poet Amanda Gorman and recited by her at the inauguration of Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2021. The poem was written in the weeks following the 2020 United States presidential election, with significant passages written on the night of January 6, 2021, in response to the storming of the United States Capitol. Gorman was twenty-two years old when she recited the poem, making her the youngest inaugural poet ever.

The poem was written to call for "unity and collaboration and togetherness" among the American people and emphasize the opportunity that the future holds. "The Hill We Climb" was widely praised for its message, phrasing, and delivery. Critics generally considered the recitation one of the highlights of the inauguration. Many felt that the poem represented a call for unity and would remain relevant beyond the inauguration. Gorman drew large amounts of attention, particularly on social media, after the poem's recitation and two upcoming books by Gorman topped best seller lists.

Background and writing

Amanda Gorman is an American poet from Los Angeles, California. In 2017, aged 19, she was named the first National Youth Poet Laureate. On January 14, 2021, the Inaugural Committee, which was organizing the inauguration of Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., announced that Gorman would be giving a poetry reading at the event on January 20. Gorman said that she began to write the poem by reviewing poems written by past inaugural poets, who have included Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. She also studied famous orators such as Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., and Winston Churchill. Gorman also spoke with Richard Blanco and Elizabeth Alexander, two previous inaugural poets.

In December 2020, Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, asked Gorman to deliver a poem at the inauguration. She was informed of her selection on December 30, 2020, and asked to write a poem that contributed to the inauguration's overall theme of "America United", but without any other direction. Gorman wrote several lines a day, and had the poem around half completed when the storming of the United States Capitol occurred on January 6. Gorman told The New York Times that she had been struggling to complete the poem and worrying about whether it would be adequate. In an interview with CBS News, she said that the storming marked "the day that the poem really came to life" as she worked the events into it. Gorman finished the poem on the night of January 6.

Gorman, who had a speech impediment as a child, was twenty-two years old when she read the poem, making her the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. She practiced the poem repeatedly before delivering it. She said that she sought to use the poem as an opportunity to call for "unity and collaboration and togetherness."

Content

"The Hill We Climb" took Gorman around five minutes to read and is 723 words long. It begins with the line: "When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?" and then describes the storming of the Capitol as "a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it" before stating that, "while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated." She also spoke about her heritage, being descended from slaves, and her dreams for the future. She described America as "not broken but simply unfinished" and noted its losses but also the opportunity for reconciliation. In the poem Gorman makes use of large amounts of alliteration and "reassuring aphorisms".

The poem has several references to the musical Hamilton. After the inauguration, in response to praise from Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gorman explained that her poem includes references to the musical; Hillel Italie of The Associated Press wrote that references include the line "History has its eyes on us," which echoes the Hamilton song "History Has Its Eyes on You." The poem also references the Bible, quoting Micah 4:4: "that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid", a verse quoted in the Hamilton song "One Last Time". It also bears some resemblance to a famous discourse by John Winthrop, transforming the "City upon a Hill" into "The Hill We Climb".

Reception

The poem was widely praised by figures including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama, and Barack Obama. Critics generally received the poem very well, noting that it would likely remain significant beyond the inauguration. Many critics named the poem as a highlight of the inauguration and praised Gorman's messages of unity, reflections on the past, and hope for the future. Several critics also drew parallels between her poem and the works of other inaugural poets, such as Frost and Blanco.

A critic for The Guardian, Adam Gabbatt, considered the poem a tour-de-force for Gorman, while Julie Bykowicz in The Wall Street Journal described it as a "star turn" and noted that for a time she was gaining followers on Twitter at a faster rate than Joe Biden. Jeneé Osterheldt in The Boston Globe praised the poem as "a forever spiritual to sing. A poem for us." She noted that Gorman's message could be about every African-American girl who has a dream and drew connections to Kamala Harris. Osterheldt also compared the poem and its delivery to Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning" that was delivered at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993, and its message to Langston Hughes's "A Dream Deferred." Shayla Harris writes for Ebony that "Her poignant reflections on the country's past and her vision for progress were brought to life through masterful delivery. Through this performance Gorman has marked a place for herself in the African American oral tradition."