How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems: 1975-2001 [Hardcover]

Joy Harjo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

This collection gathers poems from throughout Joy Harjo's twenty-eight-year career, beginning in 1973 in the age marked by the takeover at Wounded Knee and the rejuvenation of indigenous cultures in the world through poetry and music. How We Became Human explores its title question in poems of sustaining grace.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A quarter-century's work demonstrates both the difficulties and release of voicing a culture under siege. Harjo's selections from six previous books from The Last Song (1975) to A Map to the Next World: Poems and Tales (2000), show the remarkable progression of a writer determined to reconnect with her past and make sense of her present, drawing together the brutalities of contemporary reservation life with the beauty and sensibility of Native American culture and mythology: "But I imagined her like this, not a stained red dress with tape on her heels but the deer who entered our dream in white dawn, breathed mist into pine trees, her fawn a blessing of meat, the ancestors who never left." At times, the juxtaposition of the two carries an almost visceral power of regenerative rhythm, most powerfully in the poems from She Had Some Horses: "She had horses who liked Creek Stomp Dance songs. She had horses who cried in their beer. She had horses who spit at male queens who made them afraid of themselves. She had horses who said they weren't afraid. She had horses who lied. She had horses who told the truth, who were stripped bare of their tongues." Such moments have a decided a political piquancy. Harjo, who belongs to the Muscogee Nation, includes a long introduction, as well as extensive notes on the origins of and elements in each poem, and contends that poetry is not only a way to save the sanity of those who have been oppressed to the point of madness, but that it is a tool to rebuild communities and, ultimately, change the world: "All acts of kindness are lights in the war for justice." Alive with compassion, pain and love, this book is unquestionably an act of kindness.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Harjo's new collection gathers work from her now hard-to-find early chapbooks, The Last Song and What Moon Drove Me to This?, as well as four later collections. Thirteen new poems are included, in addition to excerpts from Secrets from the Center of the World (a collaborative effort with astronomer and photographer Stephen Strom). In her introduction, Harjo, who is a member of the Muscogee Nation, describes growing up in a family of strong women artists and singers. Expecting to be a visual artist, she was a student at the University of New Mexico when "poetry approached me...and tapped me on the shoulder." Her critically praised work has taken her all over the world. Defining the poet's role as a "journey for truth, for justice," she explores the role of the artist in society, the quest for love, the links among the arts, what constitutes family, and what it means to be human. Using the chant/myth/storytelling forms of her ancestors, she draws the reader into the awareness that "one people is related to another." This compassionate, provocative collection of poetry is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries. Pam Kingsbury, Florence, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393051013
• ISBN-13: 978-0393051018
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hestitant five stars for an excellent poet, August 2, 2002

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems: 1975-2001 (Hardcover)

I have followed Harjo's poetry (and recorded music) for many years, ever since I saw her on PBS reading from "She Had Some Horses". This volume contains selections from her available books: "She Had Some Horses", "Secrets from the Center of the World", "In Mad Love and War", "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky" and "A Map to the Next World". As is frequently the case, the selections for this book are not precisely the poems I would have chosen. It does include the most powerful poems, for example "She Had Some Horses" with it's pounding litany rhythms, "Letter from the End of the Twentieth Century" which is the title track of her cd, "The Creation Story" with its exquisite line "I never had the words / to carry a friend from her death / to the stars / correctly." Somewhat to my surprise, the poems from Secrets from the Center of the World which fit the photographs so precisely in their original context, also succeed as poetry only in this volume (although I'd still recommend the original).

New to me in this volume are the poems from her early chapbooks "The Last Song" and "What Moon Drove Me to This?" as well as new poems from 1999-2001. The chapbook poems are interesting as the beginning of Harjo's development as a poet as well as being interesting poems in their own right .."Four Horse Songs" and "I Am a Dangerous Woman" stand out. In the new material, "Morning Prayers" has memorable lines "the nothingness / is vast and stunning, / brims with details ..." as does "Faith" with "I might miss / The feet of god / Disguised as trees."

Harjo's poetry is strongly political - a Native peoples voice angry at the European invaders/immigrants. More importantly, her voice is one seeking a way to live well in contemporary society where living well requires memory of a time we lived with greater respect for our environment, greater responsibility for our network of relatives.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, striking, August 22, 2011

By 

beatle bee (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975-2001 (Paperback)

I love this collection I purchased for a poetry workshop class. Being introduced to Harjo can be a difficult assimilation, but this text represents a great selection to newcomers of her work. Absolutely beautiful, striking, natural, and human poetry is the best way I can describe her work.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm speechless, July 22, 2002

By 

Cindy S. Covert (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems: 1975-2001 (Hardcover)

It is profound, inspiring experience to read this collection. These writings are courageous and life-affirming.