Amanda Gorman: inaugural poet lands prestigious job offer

Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman lands prestigious job offer

(Getty Images)

Amanda Gorman, the inaugural poet who read “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden's swearing-in, has a new job offer.

Morgan State University President David Wilson offered the 22-year-old Harvard graduate a role at the historically Black university, tweeting on Wednesday (20 January), “Ms. Gorman, I need you as our Poet-in-Residence at the National Treasure, ⁦@MorganStateU.

⁩“Outstanding!!!!! Consider this a job offer!"

⁦@TheAmandaGorman. ⁩ Ms. Gorman, I need you as our Poet-in-Residence at the National Treasure, ⁦@MorganStateU⁩ Outstanding!!!!! Consider this a job offer! pic.twitter.com/jJ8tJ6oPvn

— David Wilson (@morganpres) January 20, 2021

When reached for comment by The Baltimore Sun, Wilson said that the offer was spontaneous but absolutely genuine.

“I was glued to the TV as I was watching her,” he said.

“I’m very serious about opening an opportunity for her to come here as a poet in residence. We have all kinds of authors on campus, and we think that being at Morgan for a year would give her an even deeper and wider perspective on the issues she is addressing. If she would accept this offer, I would move on it in a heartbeat.

“I will be watching my emails.”

Gorman has not yet responded, though, as The Sun pointed out, she is no doubt fielding a number of offers after her whirlwind week.

The youngest-ever inaugural poet earned rave reviews from across the media, academic, and entertainment fields after her reading at the inauguration, with everyone from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hillary Clinton, and Oprah Winfrey singing Gorman's praises on social media.

Winfrey tweeted: “I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering – and so am I."

Gorman is also now a best-selling author; her two forthcoming books, The Hill We Climb and Change Sings: A Children's Anthem, are due for release on 21 September via Viking Books.

"What I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal," Gorman recently told The New York Times. "It’s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.”

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