Poet Warrior Review, Audacity Book Club
By Nic Daniels
TW: Mentions of sexual assault and domestic abuse
Hello, my audacious readers and welcome back!
After escaping the mansion literally embodying everything wrong with colonization in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, we get a glimpse of the real life of indigenous poet Joy Harjo in her memoir, Poet Warrior.
Taking us through her journey from childhood to adulthood through a mix of poetry and prose, Harjo brings the readers on the ride of her life through her struggles with her spirituality, growing up in an abusive household, and finding her purpose and voice. She also speaks of what it all means in the bigger scope of both her heritage as a member of the Mvskoke Nation and the world beyond it, which eventually led her to being the first Indigenous poet laureate in the US in 2019 (way later than it should’ve been if you ask me, but I digress).
I enjoyed a myriad of things from this book. For one, I love that Harjo included stories that most probably wouldn’t put in a memoir: like being able to find garden snakes no matter where she went as a child, or listening to her mother and aunts while hiding under the kitchen table, or snippets of her partying with her friends and capturing the feeling of that moment. I think it’s because it doesn’t feel like it should necessarily be there. In a lot of literature, it’s demanded that you be as straight-forward as possible with everything tying back to the point. However, what Harjo does is: 1) tie back to various topics and struggles she speaks of more creatively and 2) show that she had a life. Those glimpses gave us moments of her life that weren’t “the story.” They were just her.
I also love how she included her spirituality in the book, to the point where I felt like I needed to pray the moment I finished it. I say that because while this is not a “religious” book, her beliefs are inherent to the book. It is literally the foundation of the stories because it serves as a connection to her ancestors, who act as guides throughout her journey, deeming her at the beginning of her life, “Girl Warrior.” Now, I’m not saying this book walks you through her spirituality or her entire culture, because it does not. It’s more of a snapshot of traditions that would be interesting to research more after reading.
My favorite thing, however, is that she always spoke of her family with honesty but not bitterness. Joy Harjo’s life was not easy nor were most parts of her journey easy. She had to deal with various degrees of heartache, such as witnessing her father abusing her mother due to his alcoholism, experiencing the abandonment of her mother, and trying to save her daughter’s partner from the downturn of his mental health. Sharing the hardest parts of your life is never easy and to do so with grace to the people involved in inflicting that pain is admirable. It shows how much Harjo has grown to deserve the title of “Poet Warrior,” for not only surviving but finding a way to thrive despite everything.
Hope you enjoyed this eye-opening read. What did you think of it? What are some traditions or memories that came to mind while reading? What would you include in your memoir? Let me know all the thoughts about all the things.
Until next time, don’t forget to read audaciously!
