Come for an evening of readings and discussion with Joy Harjo (Creative Writing, English), who will be joined by Gabriel Solis (Music, African American Studies, and Anthropology).

This event is free and open to the public.

 Harjo has published seven books of poetry, which includes such well-known titles as “How We Became Human, New and Selected Poems,” W.W. Norton 2004.  Her writing awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Rasmuson United States Artist Fellowship, and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America.  Her most recent publication is a memoir “Crazy Brave,” W.W. Norton 2012, which has won several awards, including the PEN USA Literary Award for Creative Non-Fiction and the American Book Award.  She performs with her saxophone nationally and internationally, solo and with her band, the Arrow Dynamics, and tours her one-woman show.  She has five CDs of music and poetry including her most recent award-winning album “Red Dreams, A Trail Beyond Tears.”  Her newest collection of poetry, “Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings,” will be published by Norton in Fall 2015, and she is working on her next memoir.  She has a commission from the Public Theater of NY to write her musical play, “We Were There When Jazz Was Invented,” a musical that will restore southeastern natives to the American story of blues and jazz.  She is a member of the Mvskoke Creek Nation and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Thanks to the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities for this information item.

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