Joy Harjo’s collection of work, How We Became Human did not suit me as much as Qwo-Li’s poetry. Although similar, I didn’t feel as much as an influence or enthusiasm from Harjo’s work. I appreciated her work, and the reoccurring themes associated with her beliefs and what we discuss in class, but a lot of the content was hard to completely understand. I also felt that her singing voice ruined some of the poetry; however I did like the tribal stomp and dances to correlate, along with the beautiful sound of the saxophone.
Don’t get me wrong, she is an incredible woman who has a lot of talents and accomplishments to be proud of. In regards to her poetry, I just couldn’t make as much of a personal connection. One poem that I did really like though is Remember. This poem made me think about everything in my life that has made me who I am today, and reinforced many of the values I believe in.
“Remember that you are all people and that all people are you.
Remember that you are this universe and that this universe is you.
Remember that all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember that language comes from this.
Remember the dance that language is, that life is.
Remember.”
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I completely agree with you. I loved Driskill's collection but then read Harjo's and felt like it fell a little short. It didn't measure up to what I had expected. Perhaps, I had to high of expectations, but the overall feeling complete boredness.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the singing, Driskill has a much more captivating and intriguing poetry reading voice. When Harjo started singing her poetry, I got really turned off from it. I loved looking at the imagery and the background voice, but not hers.
I agree with both of you here. Driskill's book blew me out of the water. Harjo just didn't cut it for me. But the Remember poem was wicked good. Her sax playing wasn't bad either.
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