Welcome to We Hear YA!
Connecting YA Writers with their Teen Audience.
Today: PLEASE CREATE A THUNDEROUS DRUM ROLL OF A WELCOME FOR... Teen poet, activist, and believer in CHANGE - Amanda Gorman!
@AmandaSCGorman is a 16 year-old writer, activist, United Nations Delegate, Harry Potter fan - AND - the 1st EVER LA Youth Poet Laureate.
Words like - Authentic & Revolutionary - simply skim the surface in describing this fierce, young lady. And We Hear YA! is thrilled to share her insights on what it means to be a teen today...
Hello Amanda!
Q:
Congrats on becoming the 1st LA Youth Poet Laureate! When will your first
poetry book come out? And what aspects of life most fuel your 'voice'?
Thanks!
My poetry book will be published in 2015, around June, and there will be a
large book sale at the next Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Commencement
Performance.
My
emotions definitely affect my voice and the subjects I discuss in my poetry. My
observances or sensations that I experience can jolt any inspiration—a
newspaper, a conversation, a word. All those reactions settle in the back of my
mind and when I’m ready I sit down and write about the ones that seem most
urgent.
Q:
Voice is essential for YA Books - teens must connect with the voice of the
narrator. What types of voices do you connect with most?
I
connect most with voices that are authentic. It’s easy these days for authors
to follow a cookie-cutter, generic voice in the hope of gaining the same
success of other popular writers. However, books hold a lot of power when they
follow the true voice of the author and the characters involved. When a voice
is authentic and real, when it is unafraid to cut against the grain, when it
can leap off the page, that’s when I’m hypnotized by books. I don’t love them
because of their similarities. I love them because of the author’s courage to
be different, to be bold.
Q:
I read on your Twitter feed that you’ve taken part in your school's nonviolent
teen protests against police brutality. As a teen, can you share how these
recent, violent events have affected your hopes and fears?
Like
many people I was deeply affected by the police brutality inflicted within our
nation. All in all Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so
many other faceless, voiceless victims exhibit that we need more peace, unity,
and tolerance within our communities. The recent violent events did heighten my
fears for any man, woman, boy, or girl, walking the streets who may be seen as
dangerous because of the color of their skin. However, these tragic occasions
of police brutality have just fueled me further to work for peace and justice.
I am now more dedicated than ever to try to change communities, and I’m glad
that others feel the same way. In this time of darkness, that brings me hope.