Amanda Gorman's first volume of poetry is thick (containing 70 poems!) and impressive. The book starts with a series of poems about the first year of COVID that might resonate more or less depending on where the pandemic is at when you read it. Mid-way through the collection is a lengthy series of thoughtfully crafted found poems based on historical letters about topics like the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the 1918 influenza epidemic, AIDS, and the Great Migration. The penultimate section contains a long, raw, memorable poem called "The Truth in One Nation" about police brutality and Black Lives Matter that also notes historical links between the history of segregation with the privilege-based rage of white anti-maskers. The last section, "Resolution," is meant to inspire hope and positive change. It includes Gorman's inauguration poem "The Hill We Climb."

As with any collection this big, not all poems grabbed me the same way. It was easy to see some of Gorman's favourite techniques, including sometimes heavy-handed alliteration and introducing word etymology in poems, and some of the pieces felt a bit like responses to creative writing class assignments, although certainly ones that would deserve an A. Mostly I think what was missing was hearing Amanda Gorman read these poems, as I think they were meant to be consumed. The alliteration and rhyme would've packed more of a punch in hearing rather than reading.

Even so I marked several passages and poems with sticky notes because I will want to re-read them. "Essex II", "What We Carry", and "Good Grief" were some of my favourites. And I look forward to more of Gorman's work!