By Rivea Ruff ·Updated May 31, 2023
Just days after it was announced that Amanda Gorman‘s acclaimed poem “The Hill We Climb,” was formally banned in Florida‘s Miami-Dade elementary school curriculum, the poet laureate has experienced a major boost in interest and support.
In the wake of the ban, three of Gorman’s literary works, including her collection of poems, Call Us What We Carry, the hard copy of the now-“controversial” poem she read at Joe Biden’s inauguration, The Hill We Climb, and her children’s book, Change Sings, have each made Amazon’s bestseller list, via The Hollywood Reporter.
Gorman’s poem was one of several works banned on the basis of touting “indirect hate messages” and referencing critical race theory after a single challenge by a parent of two Bob Graham Education Center students hand-picked certain works as inappropriate for their children’s consumption.
US poet Amanda Gorman speaks during the inauguration ceremony for new Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass at LA Live in Los Angeles, California, on December 11, 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
According to PEN America, Florida “had the second-highest number of book bans in the country,” with “566 bans across 21 districts ranging from the Panhandle to South Florida” during the 2021-2022 school year. As of March 2023, “175 books have been removed” from the state’s school districts.
Upon hearing the news of her work’s ban, Gorman took to Twitter to express her disappointment, saying “I’m gutted.”
“And let’s be clear: most of the forbidden works are by authors who have struggled for generations to get on bookshelves. The majority of these censored works are by queer and non-white voices,” she went on. “I wrote ‘The Hill We Climb’ so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment.”
“Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
The pre-order for Gorman’s upcoming children’s book, Something, Someday, is also currently number one on the Amazon best-seller list of new releases for children’s books.
TOPICS: Amanda Gorman black autthors black books book ban poetry
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