Below, you will find three poets: National Youth Poet Laureate and 2021 Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman; American Book Award winner and Stegner Fellow Solmaz Sharif; and classic American lyrical poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Edna St. Vincent Millay. There are images and links to biographical information for each along with books of their work, article and essays about them or their poems from our databases, and samples of articles or information from the internet.
These examples are to give you an idea of how one might start with a poem or poet, then find books, other works, or academic or popular articles you can use for assignments.
Amanda Gorman recites her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman
John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration:
1961: Robert Frost, “The Gift Outright.”
Bill Clinton’s Inaugurations:
1993: Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning.”
1997: Miller Williams, “Of History and Hope.”
Barack Obama’s Inaugurations:
2009: Elizabeth Alexander, “Praise Song for the Day.”
2013: Richard Blanco, “One Today.”
Joe Biden’s Inauguration:
"Opening Night of Palfest 2017 in Ramallah" by PalFest is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Collected Poems by 
Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay by 
Romantic Rebels: an Informal History of Bohemianism in America by 
Feminism In Literature: A Gale Critical Companion by 
The Oxford Book of American Poetry by 
An Anthology of the New England Poets from Colonial Times to the Present Day by 
