Book Summary and Reviews of An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

An American Sunrise

by Joy Harjo

  • Published:
  • Aug 2018, 144 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A nationally best-selling volume of wise, powerful poetry from the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States.

In this stunning collection, Joy Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where the Mvskoke people, including her own ancestors, were forcibly displaced. From her memory of her mother's death, to her beginnings in the Native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo's personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[A] resplendent and reverberating new volume.… Harjo's bracing political perspective is matched by timeless wisdom.… In clarion, incantatory poems that recalibrate heart and mind, Harjo conveys both the endless ripples of loss and the brightening beauty and hope of the sunrise." ―Booklist

"Reveals glimpses of life in Oklahoma's Muscogee Creek Nation alongside delicately rendered ruminations on memory, family and healing." ―Los Angeles Times

"Harjo, though very much a poet of America, extracts from her own personal and cultural touchstones a more galactal understanding of the world, and her poems become richer for it." ―The New Yorker

"Rich and deeply engaging, An American Sunrise creates bridges of understanding while reminding readers to face and remember the past." ―Washington Post

This information about An American Sunrise was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. She is the author of several poetry collections, memoirs, children's books, and music albums. She is the recipient of many awards for her creative work, including a National Humanities Medal. She lives in Oklahoma.

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Read-Alikes

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