The Grammy nominations were unveiled Tuesday, with Amanda Gorman, Mel Brooks, and Jamie Foxx among the nominees in the awards’ two spoken-word categories.
Gorman, the young literary superstar who in 2021 became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, was nominated in the new best spoken word poetry album category for her audiobook version of her collection Call Us What We Carry.
Also nominated in the category were four original poetry albums: Ethelbert Miller’s Black Men Are Precious, Malcom-Jamal Warner’s Hiding in Plain View, J. Ivy’s The Poet Who Sat by the Door, and Amir Sulaiman’s You Will Be Someone’s Ancestor. Act Accordingly.
In the best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category—formerly known as the best spoken word album category—comedy legend Brooks earned a nomination for his audio version of All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business, while actor Foxx got a nod for his book Act Like You Got Some Sense.
Also nominated were actor Viola Davis for her memoir Finding Me, drummer Questlove for his book Music Is History, and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda for his narration of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s young adult novel Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World.
The Grammys will be awarded at a televised ceremony on Feb. 5.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
