Artifact 2: Connection Between Readings

For this artifact, I decided to pick Journal 10. I thought did an amazing job showing why I prefer Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" over "On the Pulse of Morning" by Maya Angelou. In my journal entry, I discussed the purpose of inaugural poems and how the Gorman's poem related to me as a person.

Photo made in Canva, Maya Angelou (via Wikipedia) and Amanda Gorman (via TheGuardian)

The notion of the inaugural poem genre as a whole, in my opinion, is to uplift the incoming President while also sending a positive message to the American people. For example, at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, Maya Angelou read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning." Some of her poem's themes included nature, compassion, unity, hope, and many others to describe the start of a new administration. Yet, the main message was about America's need to remake itself in order to preserve its survival. Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" hails the United States as a country with the grit to deal with its all-too-real difficulties, rather than as a "perfect union."

Gorman's poem, on the other hand, relates to me much more. The themes of unity, diversity, and hope for the future run throughout her poetry. It encouraged me to be present in the moment and to live each day as it came. Gorman instills hope in Americans by encouraging them and providing a positive outlook for the coming decade. Her poem, in my opinion, perfectly encapsulates the purpose of inaugural poetry.