Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is an accomplished poet, writer, and performer, having published nine award-winning volumes of poetry. She has also published two memoirs, edited several anthologies, and written children’s books and plays, while simultaneously becoming a working musician, producing seven music and spoken word albums and performing internationally with her saxophone and flute, solo and with others. She has taught at numerous universities, including the University of New Mexico, UCLA, and University of Tennessee, and created opportunities for others, especially Native American women and youth, to find their voices through poetry and the arts. A member of the Mvskoke Nation, Harjo was appointed as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, the first Native American writer to receive that honor and only the second poet to be appointed a third term. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Tulsa Artist Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and National Native American Hall of Fame. She serves as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and is a founding board member and Chair of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.