Description

Edited by Harjo Joy; With Howe LeAnne; With Foerster Jennifer Elise Short description/annotation:The first historically comprehensive Native poetry anthology, without which no study of American poetry is complete.Description:

United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into one momentous volume. This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries.

Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organised sections. Each section begins with a poem from the massive libraries of oral literatures and closes with emerging poets, ranging from Eleazar, a seventeenth-century Native student at Harvard, to Jake Skeets, a young Dinéh poet born in 1991, and including renowned writers such as Natalie Diaz, Tommy Pico, Layli Long Soldier and Ray Young Bear. In When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through, Harjo offers the extraordinary sweep of Native literature.

Review quote:”When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through is nothing less than a landmark anthology of Native Nations Poetry… The poets in this anthology are artists, historians, and keepers of the truths of their heritage, their people, and their lands. These poems are testament to their personal journeys and this collection is transcendent in its authority and eternal power.”Review quote:”…When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry… give[s] a sense of the depth of marginalised voices.”Biographical note: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. LeAnne Howe is the author, most recently, of Savage Conversations. She teaches at the University of Georgia – Athens. Jennifer Elise Foerster is the author of Bright Raft in the Afterweather. She lives in California.