In This Place (An American Lyric)

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou (1978)

Like Gorman, Angelou presented her poem at a presidential inauguration, that of President Bill Clinton. Angelou evokes a tone of hope and strength that clearly influenced “In This Place (An American Lyric),” particularly in its use of the repeated phrase “I rise.” Angelou discusses the pain of the past, with the speaker ultimately referring to herself as “the dream and the hope of the slave” (Line 40).

“Afro-Latina” by Elizabeth Acevedo (2015)

A National Poetry Slam champion, Acevedo brings the rhythms of oral tradition to her spoken-word poetry. This poem brings in personal details, interweaves Spanish with English words, and highlights the different traditions of the speaker’s background, making the point that this complex cultural identity is in tension with being American—a theme that resonates with Gorman’s poem as well.

“The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman (2021)

In her poem for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Gorman’s speaker expands out from her own trials as “a skinny / black girl” (Lines 9-10) to the collective “we” of the people of the United States. Both poems portray an idealized America as a place that represents people from all backgrounds and of all identities. She repeats the word “rise,” evoking the work of Maya Angelou and referring to the struggles she and others have to reach the top of the metaphorical hill.