Penguin Random House: Viking to Publish Amanda Gorman’s CALL US WHAT WE CARRY Poetry Collection in December
Viking Books will publish #1 New York Times bestselling author Amanda Gorman’s breakout poetry collection, CALL US WHAT WE CARRY, on December 7, 2021. Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, this remarkable new collection of poems includes the now iconic poem, “The Hill We Climb,” read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry.
CALL US WHAT WE CARRY is Gorman at her finest. Bursting with musical language and exploring themes of identity, grief, and memory, the collection captures an important moment in our country’s consciousness while being utterly timeless. An audiobook edition, narrated by Gorman, will be published concurrently by Penguin Random House Audio.
Amanda Gorman said, “I wrote Call Us What We Carry as a lyric of hope and healing. I wanted to pen a reckoning with the communal grief wrought by the pandemic. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever written, but I knew it had to be. For me, this book is a receptacle, a time capsule both made by and for its era. What is poetry if not a mirror for our present and a message for our future?”
Gorman’s editor, Tamar Brazis, said, “Amanda Gorman is one of the most exciting voices in American poetry. Even when her poems are tackling themes of conflict and adversity, her message of hope always shines through.”
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman captivated the nation, and the world, with her delivery of “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Gorman was the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration, joining a select group that includes Maya Angelou, Richard Blanco, and Elizabeth Alexander. Her recitation of “The Hill We Climb” received widespread praise from media who called the poem “flawless” (The Atlantic), “a stunning vision of democracy” (The New Yorker), and “deeply rousing and uplifting” (Vogue).
THE HILL WE CLIMB: An Inaugural Poem for the Country, a commemorative edition of her inaugural poem, featuring a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, was published on March 30th and debuted at #1 on the New York Times adult fiction, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists, with the highest week-one sales of any poetry book ever published. Her debut picture book, CHANGE SINGS: A Children’s Anthem, will be published by Viking Books for Young Readers on September 21, 2021.