9 American greats Amanda Gorman referenced in her poem performed during Joe Biden's inauguration, from Maya Angelou to Barack Obama

American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 20, 2021.Patrick Semansky / POOL / AFP

• Amanda Gorman paid homage to many American greats in her inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb."
• Gorman references the work of Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and more.
• The 22-year-old poet preformed her poem at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.

Students and historians will study Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb" following her breathtaking performance at the 2021 presidential inauguration.

Gorman, a 22-year-old and the nation's first youth poet laureate, read her work after the swearing in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Read more: Meet 14 Joe Biden family members who could be powerful surrogates - or potential headaches - for the new Democratic president's administration

In her six-minute performance, Gorman alluded to the works of great American writers and speakers like Maya Angelou, Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, and Abraham Lincoln.

The poet told NPR she deeply researched her work by reading American literature and studying performances by other poet laureates.

"I think there is a real history of orators who have had to struggle, a type of imposed voicelessness, you know, having that stage at inauguration," Gorman said. "So it's really special for me."

Here are nine references Gorman's poem made to iconic American literature.