Read a Girl #43: “The Hill We Climb”, Amanda Gorman

Hello, friend :)

Long time no see! You probably noticed there wasn’t a newsletter in April and I apologise for that. Life’s been too much and I just couldn’t get it done in time. But, anyway, I am back this month with a short and sweet book.

It’s a book with just one poem, but a good one, I promise. Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” got international attention when it was read at the inauguration of US president Joe Biden back in 2021. The message, and context around it, was so powerful that it was edited as a short book, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey.

The poem presents us with the idea of unity, giving us hope for what’s still to come. And don’t we all just need some of that?

Find the books featured in our newsletter in our shop at Bookshop.org. 

My first book, “a spectacularly sad ending”, is a collection of poetry and prose about heartbreak, loss and survival. It chronicles experiences of love, loss, abuse and grief, and is for anyone who is or ever had to mend a broken heart. It’s available as a paperback and also on Kindle. You can get it here.

🎵 This newsletter was written to the sounds of “Change”, by Big Thief.

We have a playlist with all of the music featured in our newsletters. You can listen to it on Spotify.

My name is Renata and I am the Founder and Editor of Read a Girl, a platform aimed at promoting the work of women writers. My background is in journalism and I spent most of my career covering foreign affairs and travelling around looking for good stories to tell. I love reading and my favourite authors are Elena Ferrante, J.D. Salinger, Julian Barnes and Sylvia Plath.

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