Entertainment
Meet Amanda Gorman, youngest poet to read at US presidential inauguration
At 22, Amanda Gorman made history on Wednesday January 20, as the youngest poet in history to read a poem at a United States presidential inauguration.
The Los Angeles-born writer, who was also named the first-ever national youth poet laureate in 2017, dazzled the world on with her sheer confidence as she delivered ‘The Hill We Climb’, one of her latest poems, at the presidential inauguration.
For Gorman, where there is a will, there is way. Born in 1998, Gorman had a speech impediment as a child – a challenge she shares with Biden.
But the young daughter of a school teacher was determined to overcome the odds as she worked round the clock to improve her public speaking skills.
To overcome her speech impediment, she started writing. At 14, she joined WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organisation that helps teen girls discover the power of their voice through creative writing.
Gorman’s first shot at public speaking was a second-grade monologue in the voice of Osceola of Florida’s Seminole tribe.
The development, she said, marked a watershed in her passion for written and spoken word.
“I’m sure anyone who saw it was kind of aghast at this 15-pound Black girl who was pretending to die on stage as a Native American chief,” she told Los Angeles Times.
“But I think it was important in my development because I really wanted to do justice to the story and bring it to life. It was the first time that I really leaned into the performance of text.”
Her tenacity and dint of hard work soon shot her into the spotlight. At 16, the young lady became Loss Angeles’ youth poet laureate.
She thereafter continued to pull the strings, becoming the national youth poet laureate — about three years later — while studying sociology at Harvard.
In 2015, Gorman published ‘The One For Whom Food Is Not Enough,’ her debut book. She is also expected to put out ‘Change Sings’, her forthcoming literary project, later in the year.
“I don’t look at my disability as a weakness. It’s made me the performer that I am and the storyteller that I strive to be,” she added.
“When you have to teach yourself how to say sounds [and] be highly concerned about pronunciation, it gives you a certain awareness of sonics, of the auditory experience.”
Pushing for a new America
Much of Gorman’s poems have been about charting a new course for the society, particularly America.
‘The Hill We Climb’ was inspired by the Capitol Hill invasion on January 6 and how to move America forward.
Her impressive stint and quest for societal rebirth had informed her invitation to the presidential inauguration by Jill Biden, the president-elect’s wife, who had seen a reading she gave at the Library of Congress last year.
Standing before a large audience at the US Capitol on Wednesday, Gorman again delivered a healing message, stressing the need for unity in moving America forward.
“And so we lift our gazes not what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside,” she said.
“We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.”
“If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lighten the blade. But in all the bridges we’ve made, that is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare it, because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
“It’s the past we step into and how we repair it. We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.”
Gorman’s performance was widely praised on Twitter
Oprah Winfrey tweeted: “I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering—and so am I.”
Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Wasn’t @TheAmandaGorman’s poem just stunning? She’s promised to run for president in 2036 and I for one can’t wait.”
-The Cable
Entertainment
I’m not ashamed doing menial jobs in US but — Doris Simeon
I’m not ashamed doing menial jobs in US but — Doris Simeon
Nollywood actress, Doris Simeon, has said that she was not ashamed doing menial jobs in the United States of America, because she needed to pay her bills.
Speaking in an interview with her colleague, Kunle Afod, Simeon said, “This (US) is where my child is with his father, and that is one of the reasons I decided to stay back here. I have been here since 2018, and I really miss home (Nigeria). What I miss most about Nigeria are those street foods, such as roasted yam and corn. I also miss my friends and family.
“It was not easy starting all over, because in this place, only the tough will last. If one is lazy, one will be hungry. People who have been here for 20 to 50 years don’t find it easy, because with the kind of system they have, one cannot avoid paying bills. If one does not work, one won’t eat, and one won’t be able to pay bills.”
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Simeon also stated that she still got a lot of admirers. She said, “A lot of men still send me messages on social media to ask about my relationship status. Those who know me know I don’t like to make a noise about my private life. The fact that I don’t post online does not mean I don’t have a man in my life. I have a man in my life, but I don’t reject gifts.”
Recounting some of the menial jobs she had done in the US, she said, “I have lost count of the number of jobs I have done here. I once worked as a delivery person, and even met people who recognised me, but what could I do? After all, they won’t pay my bills. I worked as a personal shopper as well, and hairdressing is something I still. Currently, I work for the government as a social worker.”
I’m not ashamed doing menial jobs in US but — Doris Simeon
(PUNCH)
Entertainment
Nollywood veteran actor, Ogunjimi is dead
Nollywood veteran actor, Ogunjimi is dead
The Nigerian movie industry has again been thrown into mourning after the news of the death of another veteran Yoruba Actor Ganiyu Oyeyemi popularly known as Ogunjimi, surfaced on social media on Friday.
Ogunjimi’s death was announced by a Yoruba actor, Kunle Afod, in
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Mourning the actor, Afod wrote, “We tried our best but God loves you more.
“May his soul rest in peace. Baba Ogunjinmi, RIP, Sun re oooo.”
At the time of writing this report, the cause of death has not yet been ascertained.
Nollywood veteran actor, Ogunjimi is dead
Entertainment
‘Tiwa Savage paid IT expert to wipe sextape off internet’
‘Tiwa Savage paid IT expert to wipe sextape off internet’
Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress, Tiwatope Omolara Savage, popularly called Tiwa Savage, has spoken up about her leaked sextape and the fears she faced during the period it rocked the internet.
Recall that in October 2021, the renowned Afrobeats queen revealed that she was being blackmailed over a sex tape.
The Nigerian singer stated this during an interview with Power 105.1 host Angie Martins in New York.
Tiwa Savage disclosed that the sex tape was one she did with someone with whom she is currently in a relationship.
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She said that her manager had sent her the video that had been sent to him by the blackmailer.
However, few weeks later, a video clip of her and her lover in compromising positions hit the internet.
Speaking on the issue three years after the incident, the ‘Kelekele love’ crooner noted that her biggest fear at the time was her son Jamil seeing the clip.
However, she noted that she paid an IT expert to wipe the clip off the internet and everybody’s phone.
“My biggest fear about my sex tape leaking was that my son might one day see it,” she said. “But I got in touch with an IT expert who hacked the video from the internet and everyone’s mobile device. Right now, you can’t find it anywhere. Even if you had it stored on your phone,” she added.
The Afrobeats queen is set to premiere her debut Nollywood movie, Water & Garri, on May 10, 2024.
‘Tiwa Savage paid IT expert to wipe sextape off internet’
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