As I’ve mentioned numerous times over the course of these book reviews, I am not a fan of poetry. I don’t understand it, nor how to judge whether it’s “good” or not, but Amanda Gorman is such an impressive woman, I felt compelled to at least check this out.

I really enjoyed this book of poetry. Amanda Gorman speaks from such a mature perspective for being as young as she is, and seems to be very humble and aware of her sudden celebrity status after reading her poetry at Joe Biden’s inauguration. One of the things I love about this book, that was different from most books of poetry I’ve read, is that she mixes up the way the poems are presented. She doesn’t only include her one poetry, she takes letters, speeches and other writings from people throughout history and resets them to follow a more poetic pattern. In turn, it changes so much of the emphasis and message of these writings, which I absolutely loved. I also loved how she had different shapes for her poems, most notably one that was written in the shape of a face mask.

I really enjoyed this collection and I can see why Amanda Gorman has made such an incredible splash in the world so far. Her voice is wonderful and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.

Title: Call Us What We Carry
Author: Amanda Gorman
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 228
ISBN: 9780593465066
Three Descriptors: Engaging, Moving, Wordplay

Read Alikes:
Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo
How to Love A Country by Richard Blanco
The Historians by Eavan Boland
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Such Color by Tracy K Smith