Women’s History Month’s Feature: Joy Harjo, Author, Poet, Performer, Activist, and Educator

Hello, book lovers! In honor of Women’s History Month, I’m excited to introduce you to Joy Harjo—an acclaimed author, poet, performer, activist, and educator. In 1975, she published her first poetry collection, The Last Song, featuring nine of her poems. From 2019 – 2022, she served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, becoming the first Native American to hold this prestigious title. She is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation (Este Mvskokvlke) and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground).

Harjo’s work spans poetry, books, plays, and music, earning her numerous awards, accolades, and honors. As Poet Laureate, her signature project, Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry focused on “mapping the U.S. with Native Nations poets and poems.” Her work often draws on Native American oral history, exploring themes of defining self, the arts, and social justice.

Her poetry is included on a plaque on LUCY, a NASA spacecraft launched in Fall 2021, and the first reconnaissance of the Jupiter Trojans. She is also a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and the first Artist-in-Residence for Tulsa’s Bob Dylan Center. In 2023, she was awarded Yale’s Bollingen Prize for American Poetry. Check out her quote about when she started writing. #womenshistorymonth #author #poet #PoetLaureate #performer #activist #educator #JoyHarjo #vocalexpressions

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