Joy Harjo is the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Appointed in June 2019, she is the first Native American to serve in that position. A member of the Mvskoke Nation, Harjo belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground). She is a musician and has written three plays including her one-woman show Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light: A Play by Joy Harjo and a Circle of Responses. Harjo, who has taught at many prestigious writing programs, won the PEN USA Literary Award in Creative Non-Fiction and the American Book Award for her memoir, Crazy Brave.
Poems
AN AMERICAN SUNRISE
We were running out of breath, as we ran out to meet ourselves. We were surfacing the edge of our ancestors’ fights, and ready to strike.
