Joy Harjo is one of my favorite poets. I discovered her in a class about Native American Literature that totally blew my mind. She is a poet and a musician, as you will discern when you listen to her recite her poems. She lapses into a singing voice duirng her poems and this gives her words a more resonant quality. She is what many people would call a Spoken Word Poet. My favorite poem is one called "A Poem to Get Rid of Fear."
She begins: "I release you, my beautiful and terrible fear. I release you. You are my beloved and hated twin but now I don’t know you as myself."
She writes, "I am not afraid to be angry. I am not afraid to rejoice. I am not afraid to be hungry
I am not afraid to be full. I am not afraid to be black. I am not afraid to be white.
I am not afraid to be hated. I am not afraid to be loved, To be loved, To be loved..." When she repeats the last phrase it sounds like a heartbeat.
She goes on to dismiss her fear, pushing it into its corner and taking charge. She is a feminist in all the positive meanings of the word.
I hope you'll watch this clip of her reading the poem at Def Poetry Jam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAYCf2Gdycc
If you are interested, check out her website www.joyharjo.com
She is a vocalist and saxophonist in her own band, Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice. (Can I be her?!!?)
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