Call Us What We Carry

Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, Amanda Gorman’s remarkable new collection reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry. Call Us What We Carry is Gorman at her finest. Including “The Hill We Climb,” the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and bursting with musical language and exploring themes of identity, grief, and memory, this lyric of hope and healing captures an important moment in our country’s consciousness while being utterly timeless.

I know I’m not the only one who saw Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at President Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 and felt moved. When I learned she would have a book of poetry out and that it would include The Hill We Climb, I knew I’d want to read it.

I don’t read much poetry, but I quite enjoyed this collection. I read it as an e-book and there were some really interesting visual elements to several of the poems, and I’ve heard that the audiobook, which the author narrates herself, is excellent as well.

The most striking aspect of this collection for me was how she managed to capture the feelings about living in the COVID-19 pandemic and put things into words that I hadn’t been able to express. I found myself highlighting passages, which I never do when I read, knowing I will be returning to some of these poems to re-read.

I would also like to read the audiobook version so I can hear the rhythm of the poems, and I’m excited to read more from her in the future.