Amanda Gorman, our National Youth Poet Laureate, has done it yet again — She made history as the first person to ever perform an original poem during LV Super Bowl held on February 7th. Her piece, titled “Chorus of the Captains,” saluted three honorees whose works have been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In a prerecorded video that aired ahead of the game, she paid tribute to these three honorary pandemic heroes selected by the National Football League: Los Angeles teacher Trimaine Davis, ICU nurse Suzie Dorner, and Marine veteran James Martin, who volunteers with the Wounded Warriors Project. Speaking of frontline workers, Gorman said, “So while we honor them, it is they, every day, who honor us.”

Poetry at the Super Bowl — how cool! In an Instagram post yesterday, Gorman reflected on why she, personally, is so encouraged by the pairing: “Wow, we’re about to see poetry at the Super Bowl for the first time people,” she wrote. “It’s a turning page for poetry, for art, and for our country, because it means we’re thinking more imaginatively about the power of human stories, more expansively about the ways to connect us even when we feel more siloed than ever. What’s more, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard say they are excited to watch the Super Bowl because there will be poetry at it.”

By Alizé Utteryn 02/08/2021

Watch Amanda deliver “Chorus of the Captains” below.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1358559723017162756?s=20