Review: The Hill We Climb

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey.
Viking, Penguin Random House, New York, 2021.
Poem, 32 pages.
Lexile: not leveled.
AR Level: 5.1 (worth 0.5 points) .
NOTE: While the brief introduction is unique to this book, and the formatting differs slightly, you can read the full text of the poem, or watch it read by the author, on many websites.

An inaugural poem in book format.

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman, foreword by Oprah Winfrey.

The 2021 inauguration was certainly a memorable one. Among the many happenings surrounding that election and installation of a new US president, Amanda Gorman was a surprising breakout star. Poets reading at inaugurations is not a novel concept – it’s been done for 60 years, although not at every single inauguration.

Gorman shone partly because she was not well known before the inauguration, but mostly because everything about her was on point. Her hair, clothes, deportment, poem, and delivery all stood out in the crowd. Although she already had a collection in the works, the popularity of this poem was so intense that it was rushed into print as a book by itself, and sold well.

Honestly, I didn’t get it. Even as a person who loves books and buys far too many, who reads poetry, I just do not understand why so many people would pay $16 for a single poem, unillustrated, which is freely and legally available on a wide variety of platforms. A lot of people I know who bought it weren’t even reading the book… just leaving it in their homes as a sort of advertisement of their political views or progressiveness?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I still wanted the book, both to see how the poem read in print and to review it for this blog. But I’ve been around long enough to know that this year’s bestseller will be flooding thrift stores next year – which was the case here. I got a practically new copy from a free bookshelf less than a year after release.

Winfrey writes a good but brief forward about the importance of the moment Gorman performed as the youngest presidential inaugural poet. I think this could be useful for young readers in the future who might not remember or might not have lived through the inaugural event itself.

At 32 pages, this is essentially the same length as a picture book, but smaller and without any illustrations. The text of the poem itself is broken up with between two and ten lines per page, and very generous margins. The page numbers are pushed a bit high and a few different book ornaments are used to help fill space.

There aren’t many content warnings here. Gorman does make one Bible reference, to Micah 4:4. There are many allusions to negative things, but few concrete references. Overall the text conveys hope and coming together after division.

I wouldn’t seek this out for a classroom library, but if your principal and students’ families aren’t likely to say it’s too political, there’s no content here that wouldn’t work for a middle grade (4th to 8th) or high school classroom. Earlier elementary students are likely to find the vocabulary, syntax, and concepts too much. You could make an entire vocabulary lesson out of this book and probably get a few other lessons out of the different poetical techniques.

I’m happy Gorman had such a bestseller and was able to parlay it into more substantial book deals. I look forward to reading her other books and sincerely hope that she continues to shine. This is a lovely poem that I personally wouldn’t pay so much to read. Watch Gorman recite it, or get it from the library, it’s too pricey for a single, small format, unillustrated poem unless it has a deep personal significance.