Call Us What We Carry: Poems
The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller, now available in paperback and with bonus content!
This luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Now in paperback and featuring an interview with the author and a discussion guide, Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
This luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Now in paperback and featuring an interview with the author and a discussion guide, Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
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Community Reviews
4.5 stars, rounding up because I read it all in one sitting
I kind of wish Iâd read this earlier, but itâs also interesting to look at now that a couple years have passed. In the best possible way, you can definitely see her age in her poetry. Gorman is not afraid to experiment with style, form, and appearance. She is clever and witty with her language and, at the same time, speaks simply and clearly so her poems are very digestible. I loved how reading this actually felt like reading a book where order mattered and themes weaved between different sections, rather than just a collection of various poems.
I kind of wish Iâd read this earlier, but itâs also interesting to look at now that a couple years have passed. In the best possible way, you can definitely see her age in her poetry. Gorman is not afraid to experiment with style, form, and appearance. She is clever and witty with her language and, at the same time, speaks simply and clearly so her poems are very digestible. I loved how reading this actually felt like reading a book where order mattered and themes weaved between different sections, rather than just a collection of various poems.
What a great way to end the year. Iâm always impressed with Gormanâs layered and thoughtful approach to poetry. Many parts of this work fed my soul and were a balm to my wounds and Iâm sure Iâll find even more of each upon rereading.
The section of erasure poems were particularly moving for me.
The section of erasure poems were particularly moving for me.
I absolutely loved this book!
Every word felt so intentional and every poem was cohesive to form an emotional and intellectually stimulating retelling of the 2020 experience and race issues in US. I really encourage you to read it!
Easily in the top 3 of all books I read in 2022. Gorman makes it all easily accessible, but there is such depth packed into spare poetry.
The book is timely, honest, and human, covering politics, the emotional paradoxes of the pandemic, the fight for Black folks just to be human in America, and the enduring spirit needed in this day and age.
Edit: Upon a reread in 2023, I have somehow fallen more in love with it. The careful and considerate word choice; the puns, the call-outs, the historical contexts; and the powerful catharsis, tears, and uplift. This should be a part of all high school curriculums for the structure of poetry, the power of current contexts, and the consideration of our future.
10/10 would recommend to everyone.
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