Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjois a Mvskoke poet, musician, and author. She is often cited as playing a formidable role in the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln termed the Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century. She is the author of such books as Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, Crazy Brave, and How We Became Humans: New and Selected Poems 1975 - 2002...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth9 May 1951
CountryUnited States of America
began begin clouds listen poetry
When I began to listen to poetry, it's when I began to listen to the stones, and I began to listen to what the clouds had to say, and I began to listen to others. And I think, most importantly for all of us, then you begin to learn to listen to the soul, the soul of yourself in here, which is also the soul of everyone else.
relative understand
When explorers first encountered my people, they called us heathens, sun worshippers. They didn't understand that the sun is a relative and illuminates our path on this earth.
love
You can't look for love, or it will run away from you. But, you know, don't look for it. Don't look for it. Just go where it is and appreciate it, and, you know, it will find you.
exist field humans rely sacred vulnerable
Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning.
children four life lyrics mother sang wrote
My mother wrote lyrics and sang but was overtaken by life with four children and worked.
hear ice north relatives
I hear from my Inuit and Yupik relatives up north that everything has changed. It's so hot; there is not enough winter. Animals are confused. Ice is melting.
dad knew
I never fit in. Everyone knew my dad was Indian. I was half-Indian.
amazing barren beauty certainly creates desert flattered full needs
I don't see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe. It doesn't need to be flattered with rain. It certainly needs rain, but it does with what it has, and creates amazing beauty.
believe failures fear gives human
I believe in the sun. In the tangle of human failures of fear, greed and forgetfulness, the sun gives me clarity.
aspects care cultures developed human indian looked people spiritual taken
I don't like this romanticization of Indian people in which Indian people are looked at as spiritual saviors, as people who have always taken care of the land. We're human beings. But I think different cultures have developed different aspects of humanness.
affects collective heart homeland mind
The homeland affects you directly: it affects your body; it affects the collective mind and the collective heart and the collective spirit.
each-day world walks
I know I walk in and out of several worlds each day.
believe poetry i-believe
I believe that poets have to be inside their poems somewhere, or the poem won't work.
memories heart brain
I have more questions than answers in this world as do most poets and writers. The field of memory we exist in is absolutely encompassing and is both a question and answer. It is memory that provides the heart with impetus, fuels the brain, and propels the corn plant from seed to fruit.