\”Jewelry has to fulfill the function for which it was born. The only way for a jewelry designer to see their art in LIFE is with the eyes, mind and heart of the viewer.
The viewer is the ultimate trace of any piece of jewelry.\” –Ines Arenas Jewelry Gallery
Laureate Amanda Gorman is well known for being the youngest poet to read at the inauguration ceremony of President Joe Biden in January 2021.
Laureate Amanda is the daughter of Joan Wicks has been a teacher in Watts, a neighborhood in south Los Angeles for over ten years.
Laureate Amanda and her twin sister Gabrielle Gorman were born on March 7, 1998 (age 23 years), in Los Angeles, CA
Gabrielle Gorman is a film writer, producer, director, and activist. as her sister Laureate Amanda Gorman.
But the work of Amanda Gorman goes far back to 2015 when she published the poetry book \”The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough\” in 2015. By 2017 Amanda Gorman was appointed the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate by Urban Word (a program that supports Youth Poets Laureate in more than 60 cities, regions, and states nationally). Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.
We know her from 2021 when she delivered her poem \”The Hill We Climb\” at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. her powerful poem calling for togetherness and responsibility as a society that together plays a role in history as America enters a new chapter.
The Caged Bird Sings
Her jewelry gold hoop earrings from Greek designer Nikos Koulis. and a symbolic ring from Of Rare Origin New York-based brand. The ring featured a caged bird, a tribute to African American poet Maya Angelou\’s work, \”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.\”
\”But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing\”(*)
The caged bird is a symbol for the chained slave, is an image Angelou uses throughout all her writings.
And in 2021 Amanda Gorman remind us that the real chains are the ones that we have in our minds and not let our hearts and soul sing as the free bird that we are, no matter the color of our skin, religion, political inclination, or background.
…yes this is one of those moments where jewelry has play and small role but a big symbolism in history as always have done it.
(*) Extract from the poem \”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\” by Maya Angelou
