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USA TODAY

Amanda Gorman set to deliver new poem at 2024 DNC: What to know about her and when to watch

Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY
Updated
2 min read

Amanda Gorman, the country's first national youth poet laureate, will hit the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night to perform a brand-new poem in support of Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Gorman's scheduled performance at the DNC comes more than three years after she was invited to perform another original poem titled "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, continuing a tradition by other celebrated poets like Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.

The 26-year-old is set to speak and debut a brand new poem called "This Sacred Scene" inspired by the "atmosphere of change and unity," according to Vanity Fair, which spoke with Gorman.

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“It’s such a big convention... I’m used to speaking at one-time, one-day events," Gorman told Vanity Fair. "This is a four-day magical convening of so many other speakers that I want to really do justice to the occasion.”

'It's love that frees us all': Poet Amanda Gorman shares message in DNC speech: Watch

Here's what to know about Amanda Gorman.

When is Amanda Gorman set to hit the DNC stage?

Gorman is set to perform “This Sacred Scene," an original poem she penned for the occasion at 9:45 p.m. ET/ 6:45 p.m. PT at The United Center in Chicago, the venue for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday. You can watch Gorman's poem here.

Who is Amanda Gorman?

Gorman is considered the nation's first national youth poet laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as previously reported by USA TODAY.

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She began writing at an early age to cope with a speech impediment, growing up in Los Angeles with her mom, who was a public-school teacher. Gorman joined WriteGirl, an Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teen girls use creative writing to discover their voice, at age 14.

She was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles by age 16, becoming the first national poet laurate three years later while studying sociology at Harvard University.

Amanda Gorman, 22, reads her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol.
Amanda Gorman, 22, reads her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol.

Gorman's appearance at Biden inauguration

Gorman was invited to recite her original poem "The Hill We Climb" at The White House in 2021 to mark the start of Biden's presidency.

In a roughly five minute reading, Gorman celebrated the nation's diversity, called on Americans to leave their country better than they found it and in a call for healing and unity referenced the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, which had occurred earlier that month.

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Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem: Read the full text of 'The Hill We Climb'

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff and Charles Trepany, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amanda Gorman set to deliver new poem at 2024 DNC: Here's what to know

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