Tag Archives: Joy Harjo

The radio is playing jazz, and I listen to the sound of the trumpet playing a solo until I become that sound. Joy Harjo

It took me 14 years to write 'Crazy Brave' because I kept changing the form and I also kept running away from the story. I said I don't really want to write about myself. But it's about writing about memory. Joy Harjo

I started writing to save my life. Joy Harjo

I don't like this romanticization of Indian people in which Indian people are looked at as spiritual saviors, as people who have always taken care of the land. We're human beings. But I think different cultures have developed different aspects of humanness. Joy Harjo

I believe in the sun. In the tangle of human failures of fear, greed and forgetfulness, the sun gives me clarity. Joy Harjo

I've always loved the desert. I've spent most of my life in the Southwest. It's certainly influenced my work. I used to dream about it when I was young. Joy Harjo

Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning. Joy Harjo

When you play a sax, that saxophone is irreverent. It's noisy; it's a trickster… you cannot hide the saxophone in your hands, so it's a good teacher. Joy Harjo

I never fit in. Everyone knew my dad was Indian. I was half-Indian. Joy Harjo

The homeland affects you directly: it affects your body; it affects the collective mind and the collective heart and the collective spirit. Joy Harjo