Home / Authors / Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo Quotes

Poet

Joy Harjo is an American Indian poet born on May 9, 1951. Her work blends poetry, music, and visual art, exploring Native American culture, identity, and the female experience. Harjo is known for her unique voice and profound emotional expression, and her poetry has won numerous literary awards.

Filter quotes by topic

All Poetry She Had Some Horses Joy Harjo Poem Life Death Loss Earth Heart Language Love Grief Imagery Mourning Stories Humanity Identity Poems Remember Stars

Famous Joy Harjo Quotes

“All for that welcome home dance, The most favorite of all-- when everyone finds their way back together to dance, eat and celebrate. And tell story after story of how they fought and played in the story wheel and how no one was ever really lost at all.”

Life Death Poetry Loss Grief Family Poem Mourning Celebration Celebration Of Life

Book:An American Sunrise

Source: An American Sunrise

“When the world as as knew it ended, we stood up again in the ruin, and found a way to keep walking through tears.”

Death Loss Grief Tears Mourning Carrying On Persevering

Book:Catching the Light

Source: Catching the Light

“I never got to wash my mother's body when she died. I return to take care of her in memory. That's how I make peace when things are left undone.”

Death Poetry Loss Poem Mothers Death Of A Mother Funeral Rites Death Rites

Book:An American Sunrise

Source: An American Sunrise

“All those you thought you lost now circle you And you are free of pain and heartbreak. Don't look back, keep going. We will carry your memory here, until we join you In just a little while, in one blink of star time.”

Death Poetry Loss Grief Poem Memory Mourning Eternal Life

Book:An American Sunrise

Source: An American Sunrise

“Nobody goes anywhere though we are always leaving and returning. It's a ceremony. Sunrise occurs everywhere, in lizard time, human time, or a fern uncurling time.”

Poetry Loss Poem Travel Leaving Returning

Book:An American Sunrise

Source: An American Sunrise

“I leave you to your ceremony of grieving Which is also of celebration Given when an honored humble one Leaves behind a trail of happiness In the dark of human tribulation. None of us is above the other In this story of forever.”

Happiness Death Loss Grief Mourning Celebration Celebration Of Life

Book:An American Sunrise

Source: An American Sunrise

“The woman hangs from the 13th floor window crying for the lost beauty of her own life. She sees the sun falling west over the grey plane of Chicago. She thinks she remembers listening to her own life break loose, as she falls from the 13th floor window on the east side of Chicago, or as she climbs back up to claim herself again.”

Loss Ambiguity She Had Some Horses Joy Harjo Finding Oneself Poetry Claiming Identity

Book:She Had Some Horses

Source: She Had Some Horses

About the Author

Born: May 9, 1951
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 138

Related Topics

Poetry She Had Some Horses Joy Harjo Poem Life Death Loss Earth Heart Language Love Grief Imagery Mourning Stories Humanity Identity Poems Remember Stars

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

She Had Some HorsesRelated source material

Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: PoemsRelated source material

An American SunriseRelated source material

Catching the LightRelated source material

In Mad Love and WarRelated source material

Crazy BraveRelated source material

How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975-2002Related source material

The spiral of memory: interviewsRelated source material

A Map to the Next World: Poems and TalesRelated source material

The Pueblo Imagination: Landscape and Memory in the Photography of Lee MarmonRelated source material

Similar Authors

William J. CoyneBrowse related quotes
Jo RobinsonBrowse related quotes
Clare LeightonBrowse related quotes
Dhirubhai AmbaniBrowse related quotes
Judith RodriguezBrowse related quotes
B. M. BowerBrowse related quotes
Babette DeutschBrowse related quotes
Mary OliverBrowse related quotes
Sally-Ann RobertsBrowse related quotes
Anne HebertBrowse related quotes