Who Are the Inaugural Poets for United States Presidents?

Today, there was once again an inaugural poet. After President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in, Amanda Gorman (the nation's first ever National Youth Poet Laureate) read her poem "The Hill We Climb." She became the fifth inaugural poet of my lifetime, but only the sixth ever.

(Precedent vs. President.)

Since it's a relatively new precedent for a president to choose a poet for Inauguration Day ceremonies, I thought I would run down who an inaugural poet is, who they have been, which presidents have chosen them, and which poems they've read.

An inaugural poet is a poet who reads a poem as part of the presidential inauguration ceremonies. The first one was Robert Frost at the inauguration for President John F. Kennedy in 1961, and the most recent was today's performance by Amanda Gorman for President Joe Biden.

(7 Presidential Quotes About the Importance of Writing and Reading.)

While I don't think poetry is a partisan activity, there have been six inaugural poets selected by four presidents, all of whom have been Democrats (Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Biden).

Interestingly, Robert Frost wrote a poem specifically for the inauguration that he was unable to read because of the sunlight reflecting off the paper. So he improvised and recited his poem "The Gift Outright" from memory.

(List of Poetic Forms for Poets.)

Here is a list of the inaugural poets, the presidents who selected them, and their poems:

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