Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman shared "some behind-the-scenes moments and her own political plans with a clearly enchanted James Corden" when she appeared on the Late Late Show virtually Wednesday night, Deadline reported. After reciting her poem during the Inauguration ceremony, Gorman "was widely celebrated for both the poem's profound message and her graceful recitation. When she tells Corden she was happy to be 'a small part' of the moment, the host disagrees: 'For me, you were the pivotal moment.' "
Gorman talked about how she was selected for the honor: "Dr. Biden, now first lady, saw a poem I recited at the Library of Congress. Turns out I ended up being her first choice for inaugural poet…. I'm 22 and I've overcome a speech impediment--like, who would want me onstage? Then they called me and offered me the opportunity, and I danced around in my socks like a crazy person."
Recalling what she was thinking and feeling during the event, she said, "I'm cold. I know Biden is right behind me, so how does my hair look? My nose is sniffling, don't trip, don't mess up. And you kind of just have to let all that go and be a vessel for the poem…. Barack Obama is standing next to me being like, 'You made us proud, you did a great job' in his characteristic voice. I didn't want to leave, and then Secret Service was like, 'No, really, you've got to go.' "
Corden concluded: "I genuinely feel there's a very real world where there's a poet speaking at your Inauguration Day. I'm not joking. Is that something you'd want to do?"
"Oh heck yeah," she replied. "Planning on it."