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
song land yellow
If we cry more tears we will ruin the land with salt; instead let's praise that which would distract us with despair. Make a song for death, a song for yellow teeth and bad breath
long connections separation
There is no separation. We are all from the same place. As long as there is respect and acknowledgement of connections, things continue working. When that stops we all die.
house red earth
My house is the red earth . . . .
suicidal chicago east
The woman hanging from the 13th floor window on the east side of Chicago is not alone...She is all the women of the apartment building who stand watching her, watching themselves.
pain suffering-of-others true-power
True power does not amass through the pain and suffering of others.
horse sky rainbow
In Isleta the rainbow was a crack in the universe. We saw the barest of all life that is possible. Bright horses rolled over and over the dusking sky.
powerful father weather
My father told me that some voices are so true they can be used as weapons, can maneuver the weather, change time. He said that a voice that powerful can walk away from the singer if it is shamed. After my father left us, I learned that some voices can deceive you. There is a top layer and there is a bottom, and they don't match.
each-day world walks
I know I walk in and out of several worlds each day.
eye born
I was born with eyes that can never close...
mind places poetry whether
You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your mind or in books or in places where there's live poetry or recordings.
supposed
We're all given something to do. And when we don't follow what we're supposed to do, we always know when we're off track.
listen playing radio solo sound trumpet until
The radio is playing jazz, and I listen to the sound of the trumpet playing a solo until I become that sound.
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.
act amazes amazing bringing create creative forth music poetry whether
The creative act amazes me. Whether it's poetry, whether it's music, it's an amazing process, and it has something to do with bringing forth the old out into the world to create and to bring forth that which will rejuvenate.