In this transcendent memoir, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry, Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, details her journey to becoming a poet. Born in Oklahoma, the end place of the Trail of Tears, Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice. Narrating the complexities of betrayal and love, Crazy Brave is a memoir about family and the breaking apart necessary in finding a voice. Harjo's tale of a hardscrabble youth, young adulthood, and transformation into an award-winning poet and musician is haunting, unique, and visionary.
I was assigned this book in a literature class, I had never heard of it before, and I am so glad I was introduced to it. Joy Harjo is a wonderful storyteller and has beautiful prose that really evokes emotion.
One of the poems in the book, This is My Heart, is also a song that Harjo performs, look it up on Youtube if you get the chance, it's beautiful.
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1 September, 2014:
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1 September, 2014:
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