For the first time in history, the United States Poet Laureate, an accolade given to a single American poet since the Great Depression Era, is Native American.
The US has an official poet. The role was born from a dispirited time in American history; the words and wisdom of the poet called upon to inspire a new national consciousness. Joining ranks with Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop and Gwendolyn Brooks, this year’s poet laureate is Joy Harjo, an internationally celebrated performer and writer with 40 years of storytelling under her belt, and a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Harjo’s appointment makes the history books for two reasons. One, she is the first Native American to step into this prestigious role. And as a native Oklahoman, the appointment gives Harjo's home state first-time recognition as well.
At a time when the sheer concept of diversity has sparked a political call to arms, Harjo’s words—as honest and provocative as they are artful—surprisingly do not take on the expected harmonious, kumbaya cadence. Rather, they reveal a spectrum of truths within American history, the beauty of a nation and people on the verge of becoming, as well as the ugliness that is otherwise hidden away.
Speaking to the selection of Harjo as the official poet of the US, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said Harjo’s poems speak to “an American story of tradition and loss, reckoning and myth-making.” That her work “connects us to the earth and the spiritual world with direct, inventive lyricism,” and thus, gives us the courage to reimagine who we are, both individually and as a nation. In other words, Harjo’s work embodies what author Margaret Atwood so eloquently said years ago: In the end, we all become stories. The same can be said of your meeting or event.
Harjo’s work embodies what author Margaret Atwood so eloquently said years ago: In the end, we all become stories.
As poet laureate, Harjo will follow traditions that began in the 1940s, including presenting an annual lecture, a reading of her poetry, and developing the Library's poetry series—the oldest in the Washington area and among the oldest in the United States—with fiction readings, lectures and dramatic performances.
Raise the consciousness of your meeting or event this month by celebrating Harjo and our country’s Native American history and culture. Find courage to tell your story, explore your myths, reveal the hidden legends.
