Chapter 73: Gratitude Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 73, titled “Gratitude,” is the book’s acknowledgments section. Amanda Gorman thanks her readers for carrying her words and reflects on the difficulty of writing the collection. She acknowledges the land on which the book was written: Los Angeles, Tongva territory. She then names dozens of individuals and organizations who supported her, including her agent Steve Malk, editor Tamar Brazis, the team at Penguin Random House, her English teachers, mentors from WriteGirl and Beyond Baroque, lawyers Tara Kole and Danny Passman, publicist Caroline Sun, assistant Laura Hatanaka, fellow poets such as Tracy K. Smith and Elizabeth Alexander, and cultural figures like Oprah, Malala, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. She thanks her weekly writer support group, her cousin Maya, her doctor Dr. Merije, her Girl Gang, and most importantly her family—her mother, twin sister Gabrielle, grandmothers, and dog Lulu. The chapter closes by invoking God, her ancestors, and the legacy of Black writers and freedom fighters who inspire her.
Key Events
- Gorman addresses readers directly, thanking them for engaging with the book.
- She acknowledges writing in Los Angeles on Tongva land and thanks the original caretakers.
- She expresses gratitude to agent Steve Malk and editor Tamar Brazis for their belief in her work.
- She lists English teachers who shaped her love of literature from elementary school through college.
- She thanks her weekly writer support group, Taylor and Najya, for accountability.
- She acknowledges high school writing mentors from WriteGirl and Beyond Baroque.
- She thanks Urban Word, Vital Voices, Mass Poetry, and the Academy of American Poets for institutional support.
- She pays tribute to fellow poets including Tracy K. Smith, Richard Blanco, Elizabeth Alexander, and others.
- She thanks public figures Oprah, Malala, and Lin-Manuel Miranda for friendship and mentorship.
- She thanks her doctor, her Girl Gang (Alex, Haley, Bib), and her cousin Maya.
- She closes by thanking her mother, twin sister Gabrielle, grandmothers, and dog Lulu.
- She invokes God and ancestors, and declares herself a descendant of Black writers and freedom fighters.
Character Development
Although “Gratitude” is not a narrative chapter, it develops Amanda Gorman as a character in her own story. Key traits revealed:
- Resilience: She admits the writing process was grueling and that she often felt lost at sea or exhausted, yet she persisted with the help of her support network.
- Community-oriented: The extensive list of thank-yous shows she values collective effort over individual achievement.
- Ancestral awareness: She frames her identity as a Black writer in direct lineage with freedom fighters and enslaved ancestors, grounding her art in history.
- Humility: She acknowledges her teachers, mentors, and even her dog as sources of comfort, showing she does not take success for granted.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs Evidenced Here
- Gratitude as a literary act: By placing acknowledgments as a numbered chapter, Gorman elevates thankfulness to a thematic pillar of the book.
- Legacy and ancestry: The final lines—“I am the daughter of Black writers. I am descended from freedom fighters who broke their chains”—directly tie personal gratitude to collective history.
- Community scaffolding: The sheer number of named supporters underscores the theme that creative work is never done alone, a motif that recurs throughout the collection.
- Writers as carriers: The opening sentence, “Thank you for being willing to carry these words with you,” echoes the book’s title and reinforces the idea that both poet and reader bear the weight of language and memory.
- Land acknowledgment: Mentioning Tongva land connects gratitude to place and Indigenous history, a motif of grounded awareness in the collection.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter serves as a capstone to the emotional and intellectual journey of Call Us What We Carry. By thanking everyone from famous poets to her twin sister and her dog, Gorman models the vulnerability and interdependence that the book’s poems advocate. It transforms the typical acknowledgments page into a thematic coda, reaffirming that art emerges from love, struggle, and community. It also directly addresses the reader, making them a participant in the book’s mission of carrying forward difficult truths. For students and readers, “Gratitude” offers insight into the poet’s creative process and the real-world support system behind a landmark literary work.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Gorman begin the chapter by thanking readers for “carrying these words”?
She establishes that reading is an active, collaborative effort. The book’s central metaphor of carrying weight—historical, emotional, linguistic—is shared by writer and reader. This opening frames the acknowledgments as a mutual exchange rather than a one-way tribute.
2. How does Gorman connect personal gratitude to ancestral legacy in this chapter?
She moves from naming individuals (her family, mentors, friends) to naming groups (“Black writers,” “freedom fighters,” “ancestors”). This structural shift shows that her individual success is rooted in a collective past, and that gratitude extends beyond living people to those who came before.
3. What purpose does the land acknowledgment serve in the context of the book’s themes?
By stating that the book was written on Tongva land, Gorman reminds readers that place and history are intertwined. It reinforces the poem’s recurring awareness of erasure and survival, and positions gratitude as inseparable from acknowledging indigenous presence and displacement.