Joy Harjo: influences, peers and legacy

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Joy Harjo: influences, peers and legacy

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Joy Harjo's poetry runs on breath, horses, and saxophone — a Muscogee inheritance braided with jazz phrasing, Oklahoma exile, and the Native literary renaissance she came of age inside. This mix traces the writers who authorized her voice, the musicians she treats as fellow poets, and the generation of Native writers now working in the space she opened.

The Kynda mix for Joy Harjo

Key Influence · House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (1968). Harjo has described encountering Momaday's work as the moment she understood a Native person could write literature and be read as literature. His 1969 Pulitzer launched the Native American Renaissance that made her own 1970s emergence possible, and his Kiowa sense of landscape as living speaker — place telling the human rather than the reverse — underlies her Oklahoma and New Mexico poems from the earliest chapbooks onward.
Influencia Obscura · Pepper's Pow Wow by Jim Pepper (1971). Jim Pepper, the Kaw and Muscogee saxophonist who fused peyote and powwow song with jazz on the single Witchi Tai To, is Harjo's crucial hidden ancestor — a fellow Muscogee artist proving the tribal and the avant-garde were one instrument. She took up saxophone herself and fronted Poetic Justice in that lineage. Pepper remains largely unknown outside jazz circles, which is precisely why the thread matters.
Local Roots · Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan (1990). Hogan, a Chickasaw writer with Oklahoma roots, emerged alongside Harjo in the same networks of Native women's writing and readings through the 1980s. Mean Spirit fictionalizes the Osage oil murders — the same Oklahoma history of allotment, theft, and erasure that Harjo's An American Sunrise circles. Their shared Oklahoma is less a landscape than a crime scene inherited, which both writers treat as the ground of composition.
Beyond the Medium · A Love Supreme by John Coltrane (1965). Harjo has spoken often of Coltrane as a spiritual and formal teacher: the long circling phrase, the prayer repeated until it opens. She took up saxophone partly in that pursuit, recording with Poetic Justice and later solo albums that set poems inside horn lines. A Love Supreme's devotional suite structure — a single invocation stretched across movements — is audible in the incantatory build of She Had Some Horses.
Peer · Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (1977). Silko, from Laguna Pueblo, was the defining Native writer of Harjo's own emergence in the New Mexico years, and the two moved through the same Southwestern literary world of the 1970s and 80s. Ceremony's argument that story is medicine and that broken narrative must be re-sung to heal a damaged man is the premise Harjo carries into Crazy Brave, where memoir is structured as a ceremonial recovery.
From the Canon · She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo (1983). The book that made her, and the clearest key to her method: the title sequence's relentless anaphora turns a catalogue of horses into a psychology, a cosmology, and a chant. Written out of her New Mexico years, it fuses Muscogee ceremonial repetition with jazz-set phrasing and announces the survival-against-erasure theme she pursues for forty more years. Everything later — the saxophone, the laureate readings — begins in this cadence.
Key Collaborator · Leaving Tulsa by Jennifer Elise Foerster (2013). Foerster, a fellow Muscogee Nation poet, worked closely with Harjo as an editor on the Norton anthology of Native poetry Harjo assembled as poet laureate, and the two have appeared together on laureate project platforms. Leaving Tulsa shares Harjo's exact coordinates — Mvskoke removal memory, Oklahoma departure, fragmented maps of home — making it the clearest showcase of what that editorial partnership was gathering.
Legacy · Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz (2020). Diaz, Mojave and Akimel O'odham, has publicly honored Harjo as the elder who made space for Native poets in American letters, and the two have read and appeared together as Harjo's laureate projects elevated younger Indigenous writers. Postcolonial Love Poem takes Harjo's braid of desire, myth, river, and colonial violence and pushes it further into the body — the Pulitzer arriving the year Harjo's third laureate term ran.

What influenced Joy Harjo

Leslie Marmon Silko. The article says Silko inspired Harjo’s move to creative writing. (also via Ceremony) “During her last year, she switched to creative writing, as she was inspired by different Native American writers including Simon J. Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko .” (Wikipedia)
Simon J. Ortiz. The article says Ortiz inspired Harjo’s move to creative writing. (also via From Sand Creek) “During her last year, she switched to creative writing, as she was inspired by different Native American writers including Simon J. Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko .” (Wikipedia)
Lois Harjo Ball. The article identifies the painter Lois Harjo Ball as an inspiration to Harjo. “Harjo was inspired by her great-aunt, Lois Harjo Ball , who was a painter.” (Wikipedia)
Walt Whitman (1819). Harjo names Whitman as one of her influences. “United States poet laureate Joy Harjo , who is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets , counts Whitman among her influences.” (Wikipedia)
House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (1968). House Made of Dawn (N. Scott Momaday) — titan for Joy Harjo “In a tribute published upon his death, Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, noted that in House Made of Dawn, "Momaday found a way to move eloquently between oral storytelling forms and the written English novel …” (en.wikipedia.org)
Pepper's Pow Wow by Jim Pepper (1971). Pepper's Pow Wow (Jim Pepper) — ghost for Joy Harjo (musicbrainz.org)
Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird by Frida Kahlo (1940). Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (Frida Kahlo) — culture for Joy Harjo (wikidata.org)
Canto general by Pablo Neruda (1950). Canto General (Pablo Neruda) — titan for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
A Love Supreme by John Coltrane (1965). A Love Supreme (John Coltrane) — culture for Joy Harjo (musicbrainz.org)
Lady in Satin by Billie Holiday. Lady in Satin (Billie Holiday) — culture for Joy Harjo (musicbrainz.org)
The Black Unicorn by Audre Lorde (1978). The Black Unicorn (Audre Lorde) — titan for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
Chasers of the Sun: Creek Indian Thoughts by Louis Littlecoon Oliver (1990). Chasers of the Sun: Creek Indian Thoughts (Louis Littlecoon Oliver) — ghost for Joy Harjo

Peers and kindred spirits

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. The article describes Harjo as a founding board member of the foundation. “As one of the founding board members I have long been invested in the success of NACF.” (Native Arts and Cultures Foundation)
Academy of American Poets. Harjo holds the role of Chancellor at the Academy of American Poets. “In 2019, Harjo was appointed to the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets .” (Wikipedia)
Institute of American Indian Arts. The article gives two periods when Harjo taught at the institute. “she began taking film classes and teaching at various universities including the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, Arizona State University in Tempe” (National Women’s History Museum)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The article says Harjo taught at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State, University of Illinois” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
Arizona State University. The article says Harjo taught at Arizona State University. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
University of Colorado. The article says Harjo taught at the University of Colorado. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State, University of Illinois, University of …” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
Bob Dylan Center. The article identifies Harjo as the center’s first artist-in-residence. “My residency will allow this legacy to be extended to the community, to encourage and share creativity. I am honored to be part of this new venture.” (MVSKOKE Media)
University of Arizona. The article says Harjo taught at the University of Arizona. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
University of New Mexico. The article lists two periods when Harjo taught at the University of New Mexico. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles, University of New Mexico” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
University of California, Los Angeles. The article lists two periods when Harjo taught at UCLA. “teach English, Creative Writing, and American Indian Studies at University of California-Los Angeles” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
University of Tennessee. The article says Harjo taught at the University of Tennessee. “University of Colorado, University of Hawai’i, Institute of American Indian Arts, and University of Tennessee, while performing music and poetry nationally and internationally.” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
For Girls Becoming. The article says Harjo founded the art mentorship program For Girls Becoming. “Harjo founded For Girls Becoming, an art mentorship program for young Mvskoke women, and served as a founding board member and chair of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation .” (Wikipedia)
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (1977). Ceremony (Leslie Marmon Silko) — peer for Joy Harjo “Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko.” (en.wikipedia.org)
University of Southern Maine. The article says Harjo taught in the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast program. “the University of Southern Maine 's Stonecoast Low Residency MFA Program from 2011 to 2012, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2013 to 2016,” (Wikipedia)
Full Moon on the Reservation by Gloria Bird (1993). Full Moon on the Reservation (Gloria Bird) — collaborator for Joy Harjo “Reinventing the Enemy's Language: Contemporary Native Women's Writing of North America, Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird (editors), W.W.” (en.wikipedia.org)
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (1984). Love Medicine (Louise Erdrich) — peer for Joy Harjo “2026 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize == Bibliography == == See also == List of Indigenous writers of the Americas Joy Harjo Terese Marie Mailhot == References == == External links == Western American Literature Journal: Louise Erdrich Erd…” (en.wikipedia.org)
Stephen Strom. The article mentions a collaboration between Harjo and photographer Stephen Strom. “She has published three award-winning children's books, The Good Luck Cat, For a Girl Becoming, and Remember ; a collaboration with photographer/astronomer Stephen Strom;” (Wikipedia)
Poetic Justice. The article identifies Poetic Justice as Harjo’s band. “Harjo has played alto saxophone with her band Poetic Justice, edited literary journals and anthologies, and written screenplays, plays, and children's books.” (Wikipedia)
Arrow Dynamics Band. The article says Harjo performs with the Arrow Dynamics Band. “Harjo performs with her saxophone and flutes, both solo and with players she calls the Arrow Dynamics Band.” (Wikipedia)
University of Hawai’i. The University of Hawai’i appears in the teaching-institutions list in Harjo’s official biography. “University of Illinois, University of Colorado, University of Hawai’i, Institute of American Indian Arts” (Joy Harjo Official Site)
Native American Renaissance. The article places Harjo within the Native American Renaissance. “She is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century.” (Wikipedia)
Sáanii Dahataał: The Women Are Singing by Luci Tapahonso (1993). Sáanii Dahataał: The Women Are Singing (Luci Tapahonso) — peer for Joy Harjo “of New Mexico, 1985 American Book Awards, Honorable Mention, 1983 Southwestern Association of Indian Affairs Literature Fellowship, 1981 == See also == List of Native American women of the United States List of writers from peoples indig…” (en.wikipedia.org)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952). Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison) — geography for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
Leaving Tulsa by Jennifer Elise Foerster (2013). Leaving Tulsa (Jennifer Elise Foerster) — collaborator for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan (1990). Mean Spirit (Linda Hogan) — geography for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
From Sand Creek by Simon J. Ortiz (1981). From Sand Creek (Simon J. Ortiz) — geography for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
Winged Words: American Indian Writers Speak by Laura Coltelli (1990). Winged Words: American Indian Writers Speak (Laura Coltelli) — collaborator for Joy Harjo

Who Joy Harjo influenced

Deb Haaland. The article identifies Deb Haaland as one of Harjo’s students. “She taught as an instructor at various universities over the course of 19 years, with one of her students being Deb Haaland, the current United States Secretary of the Interior” (UConn Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills)
Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz (2020). Postcolonial Love Poem (Natalie Diaz) — legacy for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
There There. There There (Tommy Orange) — legacy for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier (2017). Whereas (Layli Long Soldier) — legacy for Joy Harjo (openlibrary.org)