Poet Warrior: A Memoir | 
We are all here to serve each other. At some point we have to understand that we do not need to carry a story that is unbearable. We can observe the story, which is mental; feel the story, which is physical; let the story go, which is emotional; then forgive the story, which is spiritual, after which we use the materials of it to build a house of knowledge.
pickA prose and poetry memoir by the first indigenous Poet Laureate of the United States, Joy Harjo.
A difficult listen, but powerful. Harjo has had a hard life, but finds joy and compassion in her art, her community, and her history. She shares stories of the Muskogee people and her own growth. This was lovely and lyrical, highly recommend. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
My mother needed to make a work trip, so I‘m going along to help. And we‘re listening to our book club pick for October (my pick!) on the drive. 🚙💨
I love Utah‘s landscape. 🧡
pickI think two Joy Harjo memoirs in a matter of months was one Joy Harjo memoir too many. It‘s not that they weren‘t both great — they were! — but she plays with linguistic form, and delves into history and politics in a way that demands your complete attention. It took me almost 3 months to listen to this one and I almost wept with gratitude when I was done. I prefer Crazy Brave…but they both boast sparkling prose and wisdom in spades.
“Rain opens us, like flowers, or earth that has been thirsty for more than a season. We stop all of our talking, quit thinking, or blowing sax to drink the mystery.
We listen to the breathing beneath our breathing.
This is how the rain became rain, how we became human.”
“I have stood and I have fallen in this story field.”
I‘ve been busy &, therefore, quiet. But…I‘m reading!
These are current reads, plus a book club book I need to start & finish by the end of the month. I *never* read this many books at once. Truly a sign of how scattered & overwhelmed I‘ve been feeling, tbh. I have to figure out which things I need (or want!) to be dedicated to, & which I can allow myself to shrug off. It‘s a season of growth! 🌱
pickA beautiful, meditative read. I've encountered Harjo in anthologies before but never read much of her work and what an introduction this was. She writes of her life, family, work, and her people. Poems of hers and work from other poets that she admires are included throughout. Not so much a narrative of a life but a poetic dissertation on the making of a person.
