'Powerful, beautiful and meaningful'

 

“Thecreative act amazes me. Whether it's poetry, whether it's music, it's anamazing process, and it has something to do with bringing forth the old outinto the world to create and to bring forth that which will rejuvenate.”– Joy Harjo

Harjo, whose roots trace to a numberof Native American cultures, was born in Oklahoma on this date in 1951 and thoughtart would be her career path.  But, after grad school at the University of New Mexico she fell in love with writing and music.   Since themid-1970s, she has taught writing at half-a-dozen major universities and traveled the performance art circuit, playing alto saxophone with the band PoeticJustice and doing poetry readings and solo musical performances. 
Amongher written works are Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings,the award-winning Crazy Brave, and many wonderful books of poetry including HowWe Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975–2000.  She has edited literary journals, written several screenplays,released 7 CDs and served as U.S.Poet Laureate, earning a basket of awards and Lifetime Achievement accolades.         
“I am a member of the Muskogeepeople, a poet, a musician, a dreamer of sorts, and a questioner,” she said.  “It’s important as a writer to do my art welland do it in a way that is powerful and beautiful and meaningful, so that mywork regenerates the people, certainly Indian people, and the earth and thesun.  And in that way we all continueforever.”