Blazer Nation Teacher Book Club: Spring 2020: An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

A Native American teacher and creator of verse history, Joy Harjo Foster preserves in poetry her American Indian views on racism and sexism. Her works picture the cultural rape perpetrated by racist European conquerors such as Hernan de Soto and the subsequent displacement of modern Indians in the white world. She energizes her poems with glimpses of Native journey lore, shape shifting, ghost dancers, and the geographic displacement that fractures clans and tribes.

Joy Harjo becomes a storyteller in her poetry. Storytelling as an element of poetry enables readers to feel the experiences and struggles of others in the past. Harjo resurrects memory, myth and struggles of Native Americans. Her style is apparent in the poems 'The Book of Myths,' 'Deer Dancer' and 'Kansas City.' Although the storyteller finishes her narration, the stories she imparts live on and the Native American culture survives.

Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and was named the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019.

On June 19, 2019, Joy Harjo was appointed the 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. This guide provides access to selected print and online resources related to Harjo's life and work.

Audio recording of Joy Harjo reading the poem American Sunrise