LOS ANGELES - Five months after she became the breakout star of Joe Biden’s inauguration, 23-year-old poet Amanda Gorman was honored on Saturday by the group that she credits with getting her career started.

WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based creative writing and mentoring organization that serves more than 500 teens annually, celebrated its 20th anniversary over the weekend with the virtual Bold Ink Awards, where Gorman was recognized with one of the night’s big honors.

She recounted how she discovered the organization in high school and following her first workshop “felt so loved and so supported. Being able to have that space as a young Black woman with a speech impediment where I could write my work and connect with others was huge.” Gorman also credited WriteGirl with helping her achieve her dreams of attending Harvard, through assisting with the college application and financial aid process.

Since the inauguration, where she recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” after becoming the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017 and the first Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate in 2014, Gorman has gone on to be repped by WME and signed with IMG Models.

Founded by former singer-songwriter Keren Taylor, WriteGirl aims to empower girls and non-binary teens through creative writing and one-on-one mentoring, holding weekly mentoring sessions and monthly workshops for students.

Story Date: June 17, 2021