Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo, renowned poet, performer, and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, has served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Harjo has written 10 books of poetry, several plays, prose, and children's books, and two memoirs. She has also produced seven award-winning music albums. Her many honors include the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. "Girl Warrior" is her most recent work.

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Awards: National Book Critics Circle Award, PEN Literary Award, Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award, Moonbeam Children's Book Award, Bollingen Prize for American Poetry

Communities: Indigenous or Native American

Laureates in Conversation

As the official poet of a nation, state, or city, a poet laureate occupies a unique role in the poetry community. How does one become laureate ... and what exactly is expected of a poet in this role? Hear from three esteemed poets about their new books and their journeys as laureates.

Integrated Learning Center Room 150 (Seats 155, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 14, 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Multigenre
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  

Panelists: Joy Harjo, Alberto Ríos, Arthur Sze
Moderator: T.C. Tolbert
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Hughes Federal Credit Union, Kimberly Peters and Bruce Peters, Lucy Wilson and Ed Schechner

Girlhood: Memory and Myth

Join Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Joy Harjo and Susan Orlean as they explore the path from girlhood to self‑defined womanhood, where memory, art and ancestral stories shape identity.

Student Union North Ballroom (Seats 670)  
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Signing area: Sales & Signing South Ballroom (following presentation)  

Panelists: Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Joy Harjo, Susan Orlean
Moderator: Gay Vernon
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of TMC Health

Books:

Girl Warrior

A Coming of Age Handbook
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
W. W. Norton, Incorporated
October 2025
ISBN 9781324094173
176 pages
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Washing My Mother's Body

A Ceremony for Grief
Poetry
Random House
April 2025
ISBN 9781984861368
80 pages
Buy now