Renowned Poet Joy Harjo to Read at Evergreen March 12

Update, March 1, 2015: Joy Harjo's performance date is now March 12. Specific room and time TBA.

Olympia (Wash) - Award winning Muscogee-Creek poet, musician, memoirist, playwright and performer Joy Harjo is scheduled to speak at The Evergreen State College on March 2, in the Communications Building Recital Hall at 7:00 p.m.

Harjo will read selected works from her book How We Became Human, a collection of poems throughout her twenty-eight-year career, beginning in 1973 in the age marked by the takeover at Wounded Knee and the rejuvenation of indigenous cultures in the world through poetry and music.

In addition to being an acclaimed poet, Harjo writes prose, including a recent memoir, Crazy Brave. The book describes her journey to becoming a poet and won the 2013 PEN Center USA literary prize for creative nonfiction.

Additional honors include the PEN Open Book Award, the American Indian Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, among many others.

Known also for her music and performance art, Harjo has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, and in venues across The United States and internationally. She plays saxophone with her band Poetic Justice, and has released four award-winning CD's of original music. In 2009, she won a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist of the Year.

Her visit includes a session with students of poetry during the day; her evening talk is open to the public. Parking is $2.