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
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.
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.
memories heart brain
It is memory that provides the heart with impetus, fuels the brain, and propels the corn plant from seed to fruit.
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.
became bit border carry love saxophone singing sound sounds
I love the sound of the saxophone. It became my singing voice, and it sounds so human. The saxophone could carry the words past the border of words. It can carry it a little bit farther.
dad knew
I never fit in. Everyone knew my dad was Indian. I was half-Indian.
changing form kept running took
It took me 14 years to write 'Crazy Brave' because I kept changing the form and I also kept running away from the story. I said I don't really want to write about myself. But it's about writing about memory.
arts bottom follow poetry spirit
Bottom line, I have to follow what my soul says, or my spirit. And my spirit said that poetry and the arts should be without borders, should be without political borders.
cannot good hide saxophone teacher
When you play a sax, that saxophone is irreverent. It's noisy; it's a trickster... you cannot hide the saxophone in your hands, so it's a good teacher.
again death equal present
I've been present at birth, and death is just as present and in equal balance. And I've been present at death, and birth is just as present, again in equal balance.
certainly influenced life loved spent work
I've always loved the desert. I've spent most of my life in the Southwest. It's certainly influenced my work. I used to dream about it when I was young.
love
Sometimes, I think, in order to get to something that we really want or we really love or something that needs to be realized, that we're tested.
ancestors history include indian largest leaders refused sign stick treaty united war
My ancestors include Monahwee, who was one of the leaders in the Red Stick War, which was the largest Indian uprising in history, and Osceola, who refused to sign a treaty with the United States.
line
I come from a long line of revolutionaries.