Poetry’s newest superstar made history yet again.
Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old who last month became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, read a poem before the Super Bowl on Sunday, a first for the NFL championship game.
Gorman taped her performance of “Chorus of the Captains,” which was broadcast before the kickoff of the big game, which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would go on to win in a rout.
The poem paid tribute to three honorary captains of the game: Marine Corps veteran James Martin, Tampa nurse manager Suzie Dorner, and educator and former college basketball star Trimaine Davis.
CNN printed the text of her poem, which reads in part:
Gorman’s performance is likely to increase the already great demand for her forthcoming books. After performing the inaugural poem, her two books scheduled for release this summer shot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list.
The Super Bowl poem was met with acclaim on social media. “Amanda Gorman’s Super Bowl poem was phenomenal. Absolutely brilliant,” tweeted activist Scott Dworkin.
Amanda Gorman’s Super Bowl poem was phenomenal. Absolutely brilliant.#SuperBowl @TheAmandaGorman pic.twitter.com/rEuAM6POAV
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 8, 2021
And surgeon and public health expert Joseph Sakran wrote, “During some of our darkest times, Amanda is a bright light sharing words of inspiration and providing a glimmer of hope as we work on digging out of this pandemic and moving forward.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.