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06-19-2019, 10:35 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: TX
Posts: 6,630
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Joy Harjo
is our new US Poet Laureate. If you don't know her, check out How We Became Human. Here's a poem from it:
http://www.amerinda.org/newsletter/13-3/harjo.html
Cheers,
John
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06-19-2019, 10:56 AM
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Staffordshire, England
Posts: 4,423
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Wow. Is it very shallow of me to say she looks incredible? Like a cross between Patti Smith and Kate Bush. In my defence I'd say the same if the new Laureate were a man and looked like Jimi Hendrix or a young Bob Dylan.
Right. I'll read the poem now.
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06-19-2019, 11:15 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: TX
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She's older now but still looks great. Here's a random photo and more poems on poets.org:
https://poets.org/poet/joy-harjo
Cheers,
John
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06-19-2019, 12:57 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Posts: 8,355
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Given the fact that Joy Harjo hasn't exactly made any secret of her views on Trump and on the protests at Standing Rock, this should be interesting.
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06-19-2019, 01:03 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Belmont MA
Posts: 4,802
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Sadly, the Library of Congress blew the announcement.
William Jay Smith (1968-1970) was the first Native American Poet Laureate (the Library routinely refers to the old "consultants" as laureates).
It is important for the Librarian of Congress to take responsibility for the staff error and to find ways to honor both poets.
Continued silence about Smith would be an ironic erasure of an important part of our literary history.
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06-19-2019, 08:01 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 4,247
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x
Blown announcement aside, this is good news for many reasons. Joyful even.
x
x
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06-19-2019, 10:05 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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In addition to being a fine poet, she's a master of the short story. I've taught them and the students are moved and amazed.
__________________
Ralph
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06-19-2019, 11:57 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: TX
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Yes, the absence of William Jay Smith from the announcement should not detract from Joy Harjo's own qualities. She's also a playwright and musician (saxophonist) with five albums to her name. BTW Wikipedia repeats the claim that she's the first Native American Poet Laureate. That could be edited, to do justice to her predecessor. Similarly, Smith's Wikipedia page, while noting his stint as Laureate, makes no mention of his Native American ancestry.
Cheers,
John
Update: I just checked my Harper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry out of curiosity. Smith is absent there as well.
Last edited by John Isbell; 06-20-2019 at 12:31 AM.
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06-20-2019, 04:57 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2,150
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??? That Wikipedia does not mention his Native American ancestry proves nothing and make his no less actual, so what is the point?; if anything, the lack of this mention suggests the incompleteness of the wiki article, the one that consists of only a few sentences. By contrast, the entry for William Jay Smith over at The Poetry Foundation affords a fuller picture and thus includes the following: Smith drew upon his Native American heritage—he was part Choctaw—for The Cherokee Lottery...
In any event, I am surprised that you, as an academic, should resort to citing Wikipedia as proof of anything, as if authoritative or reliable. My professors forbade us to cite from there where anyone can add and edit; in fact, you would not believe it but that was literally the last thing I was doing before this, fixing an entry riddled with omissions and mischaracterizations.
But besides, I do not think anyone is suggesting that 'the absence of William Jay Smith from the announcement should detract from Joy Harjo's own qualities.' Who would? Rather, it was said that the phrasing of the announcement suffered to deny the former laureate his due. This may be acknowledged and rectified without having to diminish the praise or estimation of Joy Harjo. Let us celebrate her and not neglect him; let us give him his due without diminishing hers. For the two things are not mutually exclusive; nay, both are simply due.
Last edited by Erik Olson; 06-20-2019 at 05:44 AM.
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06-20-2019, 06:04 AM
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Member
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Staffordshire, England
Posts: 4,423
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If you google 'new poet laureate Joy Harjo', pretty much every result has the words 'first Native American' in the headline. So clearly this is seen as an important aspect of the announcement. If, in fact, she isn't (and it seems she might not be) then yes, slightly embarrassing as it may be for the Library of Congress, they should probably amend their announcement. It takes away nothing from Joy Harjo's qualities as a poet or her suitability for the role.
And that will be an end of it. A simple factual error amended and everyone will be happy. Because when it comes to questions of accuracy around notions of culture, race and identity, people are generally very reasonable. Ahem.
Edit: I liked the linked poem. And that's interesting, Ralph, I'll seek them out.
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