In the early 1800s, the Mvskoke people were forcibly removed from their original lands east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory, which is now part of Oklahoma. Two hundred years later, Joy Harjo returns to her family's lands and opens a dialogue with history. In An American Sunrise, Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where her people, and other indigenous families, essentially disappeared. From her memory of her mother's death, to her beginnings in the native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo's personal life intertwines with tribal histories to create a space for renewed beginnings. Her poems sing of beauty and survival, illuminating a spirituality that connects her to her ancestors and thrums with the quiet anger of living in the ruins of injustice.

A descendent of storytellers and "one of our finest-and most complicated-poets" (Los Angeles Review of Books), Joy Harjo continues her legacy with this latest powerful collection.

About the Author
Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is the author of nine poetry collections and two memoirs, most recently Poet Warrior. The recipient of the 2023 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, and the 2017 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, she lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Reviews
"Radiant... [A] profound, brilliantly conceived song cycle celebrating ancestors, present and future generations, historic endurance and fresh beginnings." -- Jane Ciabattari - BBC
"Full of celebration, crisis, brokenness, and healing." -- Daisy Fried - The New York Times
"While the subject matter of her new poems continuously hits you in the gut, Harjo brings a sense of resilience to that dark history." -- Christian Allaire - Vogue
"If you only read one book of poems this summer, make it An American Sunrise... Every step of the journey is deeply moving... Rich and deeply engaging, An American Sunrise creates bridges of understanding while reminding readers to face and remember the past." -- Elizabeth Lund - The Washington Post



Book Information
ISBN 9780393358483
Author Joy Harjo
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 120g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 140mm * 10mm