An American Sunrise: Poems
Ratings13
Average rating3.9
National Bestseller A stunning new volume from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States, informed by her tribal history and connection to the land. In the early 1800s, the Mvskoke people were forcibly removed from their original lands east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory, which is now part of Oklahoma. Two hundred years later, Joy Harjo returns to her family’s lands and opens a dialogue with history. In An American Sunrise, Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where her people, and other indigenous families, essentially disappeared. 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. Her poems sing of beauty and survival, illuminating a spirituality that connects her to her ancestors and thrums with the quiet anger of living in the ruins of injustice. A descendent of storytellers and “one of our finest—and most complicated—poets” (Los Angeles Review of Books), Joy Harjo continues her legacy with this latest powerful collection.
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I'm not a very good reader of poetry. Consequently the parts of this book that touched me the most were the stories about the poet's family history. But, I did like the poems, I think my favourite may be the one called For Earth's Grandsons and which begins: “Stand tall, no matter your height, how dark your skin”
TLDR: If you can “read” this as an audiobook read by the author herself, do it. You will not be disappointed.
When I majored in poetry, I will admit it was because I detested the fiction professor (yes, we only had one of each and believe it or not, they were married). And thinking on that education we received from the professor, the poems we read very much reflected her and her tastes. They were primarily white, incredibly “safe” authors, that were mostly identified as “classic” poets. You really wouldn't expect much else from a small Creative Writing department at a religious liberal arts college. So when I was challenged to not only read primarily BIPOC authors this month but also to read outside of my comfort zone in genre and modality... I went straight back to poetry. I haven't honestly read poetry since.... well.... that ill-advised Creative Writing degree.
There is this stunning beauty in the way Harjo mixes past and present, human and nature, song and verse. I can't pretend to know much of anything about the trials she has faced or the culture that is threatened but she tells the stories so beautifully. At one point while I was listening, she was both speaking and singing and the mix was haunting.
And as an identity nerd, I love everything about her stories and her verse. I love the idea that the past is still here, has a presence, and is a force. It is here and into the future... and it lives and breathes with its own life. She tells you the stories of her life and then pulls you out into the larger context of the nation in a way that not only tells you more about who she is, where she is, and her world but also about the identity of the whole people.
I highly, highly recommend listening to this if you can. It is so hauntingly beautiful.
