Poems of Resistance Poems of Hope

by Joy Harjo, Ada Limon, Hanif Abdurraqib

Independent Bookstore Day 2020 collection of poems

Genres: Poetry

77 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Bio Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. She has released four award-winning CD's of original music and won a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist of the Year. She performs nationally and internationally solo and with her band, The Arrow Dynamics. She has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, in venues in every major U.S. city and internationally. Most recently she performed We Were There When Jazz Was Invented at the Chan Centre at UBC in Vancouver, BC, and appeared at the San Miguel Writer’s Conference in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Her one-woman show, Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light, which features guitarist Larry Mitchell premiered in Los Angeles in 2009, with recent performances at Joe’s Pub in New York City, LaJolla Playhouse as part of the Native Voices at the Autry, and the University of British Columbia. Her seven books of poetry include such well-known titles as How We Became Human- New and Selected Poems and She Had Some Horses. Her awards include the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. She was recently awarded 2011 Artist of the Year from the Mvskoke Women’s Leadership Initiative, and a Rasmuson US Artists Fellowship. She is a founding board member and treasurer of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Harjo writes a column Comings and Goings for her tribal newspaper, the Muscogee Nation News. Soul Talk, Song Language, Conversations with Joy Harjo was recently released from Wesleyan University Press. Crazy Brave, a memoir is her newest publication from W.W. Norton, and a new album of music is being produced by the drummer/producer Barrett Martin. She is at work on a new shows: We Were There When Jazz Was Invented, a musical story that proves southeastern indigenous tribes were part of the origins of American music. She lives in the Mvskoke Nation of Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Rio Sharkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up because it is just a little $6 volume so that should be factored in. I was personally a little underwhelmed by this collection. It had a lot of great poems but I didn’t feel like it fully delivered on the expectations set by the title and cover. Maybe that’s just me but I thought it’d be a little more… hardcore? I felt there were more poems of hope than poems of resistance which isn’t bad but I guess I was expecting something a little different. Still a nice little collection of contemporary poetry.

[Abigail Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Poems Of Resistance Poems Of Hope" is exactly what it says it is. This slim volume is packed with authors from different walks of life, but all with a perspective of the oppressed. While some poems are somber, there is also a vein of hope and a sense that change can and must happen. This collection is deeply moving and one that I will return to again and again. These voices need to be heard and valued and real change has to occur. I highly recommend this powerful little book!

[Scott Stelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great poems:
-The Leash by Adi Limon
-Heavy by Hieu Minh Nguyen
-It Was Summer Now And The Colored People Came Out Into The Sunshine by Morgan Parker
-Bullet Points by Jericho Brown
-How Can Black People Write About Flowers At A Time Like This by Hanif Abdurraqib
-Epithalamion by Fady Joudah
-An Old Story by Tracy K. Smith
-Love Poem by John Sands
-Ghazal. After Ferguson by Yusef Komunyakaa
-Evergreen by Oliver Baez Bendorf
-For Keeps by Joy Harjo
-Cloud Anthem by Richard Blanco

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The media is saturated with uncareful language. In poetry, we find precision, peculiarity, and potential. Poems strive less for answers than enliven our questions. The poets in Poems of Resistance, Poems of Hope, take up these questions with with an eye for what's possible. These poems break open the human spirit, and remind us that through language, community, and art, the endeavor for empathy is not lost. Resistance and hope are alive, in the world, and on the page."

(From the back cover of this little gem of a poetry collection)

I bought this special limited poetry collection on Independent Bookstore Day this year. It contains some of my favorite poets: Sharon Olds, Joy Harjo, Tracy K. Smith, Louise Glück and Ada Limón, and without a doubt, their poems were my favorites.

[MaryBeth Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Various authors writing on social, emotional, political and even personal issues. Some of the poetry speaks of celebration and strength and love. Others of struggles, suppression, ignorance, inequality and more. Many different voices with different messages.

I marked the poems that spoke to me now. When I pick up the book again, months or years from now, I may find that different poems resonate with me more - or less- at that time.

Today I noted the following:
“We Lived Happily During the War” by Ilya Kaminsky
“Bullet Points” by Jericho Brown
“Amuse-Bouche” by Max Ritvo
“Diagnosis” by Kathy Fagan
“The Strong By Their Stillness” by Carl Phillips
“Cloud Anthem” by Richard Blanco

[Kathryn Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know much of anything about poetry so this giveaway from National Independent Bookstore Day was a break from my normal reading. Some really excellent poems throughout on race, gender, rebellion, and the state of the world/country. So many poets I want to read more from! Particularly enjoyed:

Brute Strength, Emily Skaja
Contouring the Flattening, Camonghne Felix
Theory of Memory, Louise Glück
It was Summer Now and the Colored People Came Out into the Sunshine, Morgan Parker
Bullet Points, Jericho Brown
Evergreen, Oliver Baez Bendorf
Cloud Anthem, Richard Blanco

[Kelsey Zukowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A provocative, gritty, and transcendent themed collection of poetry in times of great turmoil, oppression, and daunting possibilities showing the enduring power of one’s voice, identity, and daring to dream for a better tomorrow.

Also a wonderful force of diverse voices from Native American to Muslim to Black voices and showcasing of how identity and art can create bigger change than we often see at the time.

Bonus for benefiting indie bookstores and the celebration of vital voices.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ecletic mix of modern poets. Some familiar voices (e.g., Harjo, Diaz, Gluck), some less so.

A few gems, a lot of reasonably good stuff and not real clunkers.

Read it and decide for yourself which is which.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favs are Reines, Sajid, Olivarez, Bendorf, Brewer and Olds.

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection. I especially liked the selections from Jericho Brow, Morgan Parker, Natalie Diaz, and Sharon Olds.

[AprilFalls · Rating 4 out of 5]

- 1 star for the poem titled “Ode to Dirt” that honestly just felt racist lol

[Sarah Berk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most poems were really touching and powerful. Will be keeping this for my collection

[Suzanne Rancourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry that changes you

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dog-eared a number of poems to read again. Several of the poems had good one-liners. Overall, good assortment in a tiny collection.

[Be Storie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite: Love Poem

[Nathaniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lottttt of the poems are really not in line with the title (and also aren't at all suited to my taste).

[Book Buying With Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a poetry person, typically, but this was really great. I maybe need to read more contemporary poets. Joy Harjo especially.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great variety of perspective; introduced me to some voices I didn’t yet know.