'Overjoyed': Hear from poet who stole the show at inauguration (CNN)

[ItsjustMe]

CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks with Amanda Gorman, the nation's first-ever youth poet laureate, after she delivered a poem at the inauguration of President Joe Biden

[bonniebgood]

1. This is our Future. Awesome!

[Gothmog]

2. Amanda Gorman was/is a stutter

I used to stutter. The stutter is still there when I am very very tired. This is a very personal issue for me. I met Joe Biden at two fundraisers in 2019 (pre covid) and at one fundraiser, we discussed stuttering. I got a Biden hug and Joe told me about the 20+ young people with stutters he keeps in contact with. I loved Amanda Gorman's poem and I just found out that she is or was a stutter (the stutter never goes away entirely).
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/joe-biden-inauguration-speech-stutter.html?via=rss_socialflow_twitter

Link to tweet

Joe Biden was not the only one at this inauguration to understand how hard-won delivering one’s own words can be. Amanda Gorman, the poet laureate who cracked the inauguration ceremony into a million pieces with her poem, was also a child who overcame a speech impediment, by writing poems. Speaking to NPR about her own stutter, she mentioned one of her predecessors, Maya Angelou, who also delivered an inaugural poem and was mute as a child. “I think there is a real history of orators who have had to struggle, a type of imposed voicelessness, you know, having that stage at inauguration,” she said. “So it’s really special for me.” Gorman’s voice was perhaps the most poignant symbol for millions and millions of Americans who have been struggling to speak truth in the face of years of dark, pixelated nonsense.

This young lady is an amazing person

Maya Angelou also had a language issue when she was young

[Rhiannon12866]

3. That is one special and admirable quality of Joe Biden

He has that sensitivity to people and is able to reach out to and encourage them on the spot. I think it's because he's been through pain and suffering in his life that he can recognize it in others and so he's drawn to them and has the ability to reach them. Certainly a big change from what we've become used to during the past 4 years!

[Gothmog]

4. This is the young man Joe befriended

Link to tweet

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Thanks so much!

I think I remember hearing about their encounter on the news, but I appreciate the details!

[Gothmog]

6. This hits me hard

Link to tweet

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Wow! I remember the encounter, but I had no idea that he worked with others!

It resonated with me as well, not only because it showed his compassion and how he relates to people, but when I was in college, I worked with the Center for Speech and Hearing and took a special interest in treatments for stuttering. Thanks!