One Sentence Summary
Amanda Gorman’s debut collection of poetry, Call Us What We Carry, is an inspirational exploration of identity, relationships, nature, and injustice that paints a hopeful vision for the world.
Book Genre
Call Us What We Carry is a poetry collection.
Main Topic of the Book
The main topic of Call Us What We Carry is identity and self-expression.
Key Ideas
The collection of poems in Call Us What We Carry explore the following key ideas:
- Identity and self-expression
- Injustice and social change
- Nature, beauty, and wonder
- Individual and collective resilience
- Humankind’s relationship with the world
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
Call Us What We Carry contains thirty-six poems that are divided into five sections, which anchor Gorman’s exploration of the ideas highlighted above.
- Rise To The Light – This section examines how we craft our own identity, something which often requires shedding what no longer serves us.
- Tide To Tide – Here Gorman studies the paradox of human relationships and how they might both harm and heal us.
- Long Long After – The focus here is on Gorman’s engagement with nature and her belief in its ability to restore and heal us.
- Unafraid& Undaunted – Gorman calls for an end to injustice through her examination of power, oppression, and marginalization.
- The Bird At Dawn – Here Gorman celebrates resilience and renewal, and charts a hopeful vision for the world.
Key Takeaways
The key takeaways from Call Us What We Carry highlight the importance of identity, relationships, and nature and the ways in which we can work together to create positive social change and a brighter future.
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Amanda Gorman is a poet, activist, and author. She is the first Youth Poet Laureate of the United States and one of the youngest people to ever address a Presidential Inauguration in 2021. She is the founder of One Pen One Page, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing literacy and the literary arts.
Target Audience
The target audience for Call Us What We Carry is teens and young adults who are interested in the topics of identity, social justice, and self-expression.
Publisher and First Publication Date
Call Us What We Carry was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.