Synopses & Reviews
A nationally best-selling volume of wise, powerful poetry from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States.
In this stunning collection, Joy Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where the Mvskoke people, including her own ancestors, were forcibly displaced. From her memory of her mother’s death, to her beginnings in the Native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo’s personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings.
Review
"Full of celebration, crisis, brokenness and healing." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Harjo, though very much a poet of America, extracts from her own personal and cultural touchstones a more galactal understanding of the world, and her poems become richer for it." Maya Phillips, The New Yorker
Review
"Rich and deeply engaging, An American Sunrise creates bridges of understanding while reminding readers to face and remember the past." Elizabeth Lund, Washington Post
Review
"[Joy Harjo’s] poems are accessible and easy to read, but making them no less penetrating and powerful, spoken from a deep and timeless source of compassion for all... [A] stark reminder of what poetry is for and what it can do." Craig Morgan Teicher, NPR
About the Author
Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. She is the author of nine poetry collections, most recently An American Sunrise, and a memoir, Crazy Brave. Named Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019, she lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she is a Tulsa Artist Fellow.