Amanda Gorman is/was a stutter

[Gothmog]

I used to stutter. This is a very personal issue for me. I met Joe Biden at two fundraisers in 2019 (pre covid) and at one fundraiser, we discussed stuttering. I got a Biden hug and Joe told me about the 20+ young people with stutters he keeps in contact with. I loved Amanda Gorman's poem and I just found out that she is or was a stutter (the stutter never goes away entirely).
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/joe-biden-inauguration-speech-stutter.html?via=rss_socialflow_twitter

Link to tweet

Joe Biden was not the only one at this inauguration to understand how hard-won delivering one’s own words can be. Amanda Gorman, the poet laureate who cracked the inauguration ceremony into a million pieces with her poem, was also a child who overcame a speech impediment, by writing poems. Speaking to NPR about her own stutter, she mentioned one of her predecessors, Maya Angelou, who also delivered an inaugural poem and was mute as a child. “I think there is a real history of orators who have had to struggle, a type of imposed voicelessness, you know, having that stage at inauguration,” she said. “So it’s really special for me.” Gorman’s voice was perhaps the most poignant symbol for millions and millions of Americans who have been struggling to speak truth in the face of years of dark, pixelated nonsense.

This young lady is an amazing person

[Blue Owl]

1. K&R

She was my favorite part of today's ceremony...

[matt819]

2. That was breathtaking.

I was riveted.

[Hortensis]

3. She was wonderful. I loved her message.

The Hill had the grace to publish the complete text of her poem.

... When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/535052-read-transcript-of-amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem

[BlueIdaho]

4. More tears...

Such a powerful day!

[Gothmog]

5. How a 'Hamilton' song helped Amanda Gorman overcome a speech impediment

This young lady is amazing. She was/is a stutter and overcame her speech impediment with the help of Hamilton

Link to tweet

You wouldn't know it from her commanding delivery at the inauguration, but up until a few years ago, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman struggled to overcome speech impediment.

For much of her life, including when she was still an undergraduate at Harvard, Gorman had trouble pronouncing the letter "R."
To practice saying the letter, she'd listen on repeat to one song she said was "packed with 'R's'" -- "Aaron Burr, Sir" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical opus, "Hamilton."

"I would try to keep up with Leslie Odom Jr. (who played Burr in the original Broadway cast) as he's, you know, doing this amazing rap," Gorman told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, following her triumphant inaugural performance. "I would say, if I can train myself to do this song, then I can train myself to say this letter."

[Hugin]

6. I also had/have a speech impediment...

Luckily, when I was extremely young I had a very dedicated speech therapist who was a super eager young woman who had only graduated from college. I was her first charge. Charge she did! Threw every new age speech therapy concept she'd learned at me. Something took, because, it resulted in my talking pure Queen's English with some sort of a Midwestern American (where she was from) lilt around the edges. The only fix since then was when I was in my early twenties and it was pointed out to me that I didn't ever use contractions when I was speaking and it sounded a bit odd. So, after some practice, I knocked out the contractions.

Now, other than sounding nothing like any of my immediate family, the only time my impediment and native accent come through is when I'm extremely mentally exhausted or angry. It startles people to hear my native accent. It's very strong and sounds like I mean business. I had never learned to soften it.

[sheshe2]

7. K&R