Joy Harjo: Crazy Brave

Please join Laura Waterman Wittstock  on Wednesday, September 12th at 9 am Central as she talks with renowned American Indian creative genius: Joy Harjo. Her new book - Crazy Brave is just out. It's a great read and a lovely memoir grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry. Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, was born in Oklahoma, at the end place of the Trail of Tears. She grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice. Narrating the complexities of betrayal and love, Crazy Brave is a memoir about family and the breaking apart necessary in finding a voice. Harjo’s tale of a hardscrabble youth, young adulthood, and transformation into an award-winning poet and musician is haunting, unique, and visionary.