Art Works Podcast: Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo (Muscogee / Creek) the Poet Laureate of the United States (and NEA Big Read author) joins me this week for a far-ranging conversation about poetry and music. We talk about — and she reads poems from — her most recent collection An American Sunrise. She talks about her family history on the Trail of Tears and how it led to An American Sunrise, her long deep relationship with the spirit of poetry, her equally long love of jazz and her commitment to honoring her poetic ancestors as well as her familial ones . It was a great conversation — she's deeply thoughtful, engaging and funny. If you enjoy the interview half as much I did, you'll love it. Listen on YouTube or through the NEA website. 

Photo by Karen Huehn