Joy Harjo

In the poem by Joy Harjo called “Eagle Poem,” she talks about prayer and life and how they revolve around Mother Nature. She says that while being one with nature we feel we are in a place we haven’t imagined. There are plenty of things we would love to do in that calming place. “Eagle Poem” sticks to one extended metaphor throughout the entire poem. Alongside the use of the extended metaphor, Harjo uses other literary devices such as similes, repetition, and imagery to convey her message. The…

Jane Hirshfield and Joy Harjo seem to share different experiences and it’s evident in their writing. Hirshfield was born in New York City and graduated from Princeton University’s first graduating class that included women. On the other hand we have Joy Harjo who was born in Oklahom and is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. Both on what seems to be complete opposite ends of the spectrum. In a divided America, there is a long-standing history between the two and however the injustices are more…

The collection of poems conflict resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo has lots of awesome poems that show great examples of displacement. Her poem is very deep and meaning about Native American that I had never read or heard before. The word “displacement” might differ from person to person based on their understanding and their life experiences. Although from my understanding and knowledge of the word displacement is different from Joy Harjo's conflict…

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1951, Joy Harjo is, “an internationally known poet, writer, performer, and saxophone player of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation”. Her poems not only feature Indian symbolism but imagery, history, nature and repetition as well. She writes in such a way that helps you completely visualize what she is writing, you feel as if you are sitting next to her being told the story personally. Much of Harjo’s work discusses major occurrences in history such as the terrorist attacks on…

Joy Harjo is a contemporary Native American poet who is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. Her writing manifests her love and respect for nature, and conveys a sense of equality among humans and all other life forms. This Native American literature deviates from traditional Western literature for it creates an emphasis on harmony among all living things. As discussed in “The Sacred Hoop”, by Paula Gunn Allen, the two literatures differ so much because the cultures are so uncommon. Western…

What would our world be without everything being related in a way? It would be a lot different than it is today. In “Human Family” by Maya Angelou and “Remember” by Joy Harjo, both poets use personification, hyperboles, and repetition, to show that everything is related in some way. Personification is one major poetic device both poets used in their poems. In “Human Family”, by Maya Angelou, she exhibits that “The variety of our skin tones/can confuse, bemuse, delight” (Angelou 9-10). When she…

Greetings classmates, Wow! "The woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window" is about a woman who feels nonexistent hanging from a nonexistent floor. She feels like she doesn't exist. What a powerful poem that has a lot of meaning for women and for the men in their lives. The sixth lines sets the tone. "She thinks she will be set free" (6). The theme that stuck out to me was a celebration feminism by showing the brutality of the emotional impact on her life by her environment. This seemed…

metaphors and personification used in this poem highlight the theme that the family nurtures, cultivates, and strengthens its members though all of life. As one can see, the details, nondescript imagery, and metaphors and personification used by Harjo in “Perhaps the World Ends Here” emphasize the theme that the family nurtures, grows, and encourages its members through all stages of life. A person cannot grow by themselves. To solve this problem, one is placed in a family. The family…

Joy Harjo 's choice to use of Creek Indian Social Ball Game by Solomon McCombs as cover art for Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings invokes Mvskoke cultural traditions and methods of conflict resolution. The references to traditional ceremonies and the treatment of storytelling in her poems affirms that Harjo sees preservation of her heritage through art as a form of healing from ancestral trauma, a theme that dominates her poetry. Healing implies that the body and soul have worked through a…

each generation, memories need to be communicated and shared. The importance of understanding the struggle that defines Native history is one that can be addressed by the creation and communication of meaning through written and oral tradition. Joy Harjo, a Native American poet and musician, combines prose and poetry in The Woman Who Fell from the Sky, and contributes to bridging the gap of understanding between…