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When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through

A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry
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( 880 ratings, 132 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through, assembled by United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, is a groundbreaking anthology that celebrates indigenous poetry from North America. It gathers over 160 poets from nearly 100 indigenous nations, spanning centuries of rich literary tradition. The volume is structured into five regional sections, each introduced by notable editors and featuring poems from historic oral literatures alongside works by contemporary voices such as Natalie Diaz and Tommy Pico.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This anthology is ideal for readers interested in indigenous cultures, poetry enthusiasts seeking diverse voices, and those studying North American literary heritage and oral traditions.

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The first historically comprehensive Native poetry anthology, without which no study of American poetry is complete.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into one momentous volume. This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries.

Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organised sections. Each section begins with a poem from the massive libraries of oral literatures and closes with emerging poets, ranging from Eleazar, a seventeenth-century Native student at Harvard, to Jake Skeets, a young Dinรฉh poet born in 1991, and including renowned writers such as Natalie Diaz, Tommy Pico, Layli Long Soldier, and Ray Young Bear.

In When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through, Harjo offers the extraordinary sweep of Native literature.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Lew Whittington of the New York Journal of Books calls this anthology "a landmark" featuring poets who serve as "artists, historians, and keepers of the truths of their heritage," praising its authority and power. Paul Perry of The Irish Independent highlights the work's ability to convey the "depth of marginalised voices," emphasising its cultural and poetic significance.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393356809

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 August 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Contributors:

  • Edited by Joy Harjo
  • With LeAnne Howe
  • With Jennifer Elise Foerster

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 33.0mm

Width: 155.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 591g

Pages: 496

About the Author

Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee Nation. She served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States and is a recipient of the Poetry Society of Americaโ€™s 2024 Frost Medal, Yaleโ€™s 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, and was recently honored with a National Humanities Medal. Harjo has released seven award-winning albums and is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she lives. LeAnne Howe is the author, most recently, of Savage Conversations. She teaches at the University of Georgia โ€“ Athens. Jennifer Elise Foerster is the author of Bright Raft in the Afterweather. She lives in California.

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