Joy Harjo: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years

Joy Harjo—writer, musician and 23rd United States Poet Laureate—discusses her groundbreaking career and poetry.

is a magnificent selection of fifty poems to celebrate Harjo’s fifty years as a poet. In this gemlike volume, she selects her best poems from across fifty years, beginning with her early discoveries of her own voice and ending with moving reflections on our contemporary moment. Generous notes on each poem offer insight into Harjo’s inimitable poetics as she takes inspiration from Navajo horse songs and jazz, reckons with home and loss, and listens to the natural messengers of the earth.

Joy Harjo speaks with poet and novelist Anne Michaels about her musical, intimate, political, and wise writing, which intertwines ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love that speaks “from a deep and timeless source of compassion for all” (NPR).

Q&A and book signing to follow. Books available for purchase.

Ticket registration for this event is required: Free tickets for this event are available to book via Eventbrite.

About this event’s guests:

Joy Harjo

Anne Michaels

Read more:

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This event is part of our signature Salon Series, where we host local and international authors, artists and thinkers in conversation about their new books and big ideas.

It is also part of our Indigenous Celebrations series, generously supported by TD Bank Group, through the TD Ready Commitment.

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Note: This is an in-person event at The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, the premiere event space for Toronto Public Library's cultural and heritage programming, located on the second floor of the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street).

Arrive early, meet people. The talk starts at 7 pm, but doors open at 6 pm. Come early so you can chat with your fellow literature lovers, and make new friends.

Reminder! We oversell these events to make sure that the most people have an opportunity to attend. Tickets are only guaranteed until 10 minutes before the show starts, at which point we will start opening up available spots to the rush line.

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Accessibility at Toronto Public Library:

Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks’ notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email [email protected].

Host or Publisher Toronto Public Library