Welcome to Litsy!

A beautiful collection of works inspired by Harjo‘s ancestors‘ experience of the Trail of Tears, but covering far more ground than that from the deeply personal (the death of her mother) to the political to the invention of the saxophone. I found it accessible even as someone who hasn‘t read much poetry in the past couple years. And oddly hopeful and comforting despite its subject matter and our current political moment.
Beatrice #CatsOfLitsy

Probably my last #AuldLangSpine book this month (though others are on my TBR for later). This collection is proving to be beautiful, comforting, and timely all at the same time.

Enjoying a dirty chai latter and my usual egg and cheese on a cheddar chive biscuit before going over to care for my neighbor‘s cats.

A series of poems examining Harjo‘s heritage, including such events like the Trail of Tears.

Just as good as her memoir that I read last year. Powerful and emotional, Harjo‘s examination of her personal identity as well as the larger identity of her community are stark. Absolutely worth listening to her read this herself! #TheSealeyChallenge 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Another from @IndoorDame ‘s #auldlangspine list — one I‘d never pick up on my own. I‘m typically not a reader of poetry but I‘ve been interested in Joy Harjo, so this seemed like a perfect start to her work. And it is beautiful! Featuring imagery from her own personal life (an especially moving scene at her mother‘s deathbed), as well as the collective Native American experience, ie the Trail of Tears. The audio (read by Harjo) is perfection!

Finishing up my November reviews… I listened to this one over audio. It was a quick listen & read by the author. It was so beautiful & powerful. This is my first time reading/listening to Harjo & need to read more of her work. #bookspin book

Most poets are terrible readers, but I do have a small list of poets who I‘ll listen to, & Joy Harjo is absolutely on it. In fact, most poets actually willing to sing lines meant to be sung make my list. Listening is a different experience though, so I don‘t listen to the audio of collections I haven‘t read in print. I couldn‘t sleep last night so I listened to this. I never fail to feel inspired by her, that such power can have a quiet quality.

Mahalo for the #LittensWantToKnow tag @Sargar114 🤗

8 that should make my 2022 list:
-The tagged poetry I read & then listened to-so moving!
-Same with Taste-Stanley Tucci is a treasure!
-The House in the Cerulean Sea-pure💙
-Unlikely Animals, The Verifiers & The Traveling Cat Chronicles-all quirky & original
-Cultish-fascinating-still thinking about it & Wordslut
-Lost Among the Living by St James slightly edged out her The Book of Cold Cases

#poetrymatters #save @TheSpineView

#poetrymatters #sack @TheSpineView

My husband and I chose to listen to this on audio together. It‘s read by the author which, undoubtedly, brings more power to the poetry. However, I do think I would have preferred to have read the text version. I have a difficult time with auditory processing and, as a poetry lover, I don‘t want my processing issues to interfere with my appreciation for the depth.

Mahalo @MoonWitch94 & @Eggs for the #ThoughtfulThursday tag 🤗

1️⃣ I have been reading more poetry lately & this one read in April was amazing—I read & then listened to the audiobook. Stunning!🌅

2️⃣ 🔎🗂👮🏼🔪⚰️⚖️🔬🧠🧩💡🧶☕️🗝🔦

3️⃣ I 🖤 mysteries (if you couldn‘t tell) because they run the gamut from thriller to police/FBI procedural to cozy. I like the twists & turns & trying to puzzle out the clues & solve them.

4️⃣ Definitely 📕🖼 🎨

It's not April anymore, but I'm still reading poetry. Harjo presents the Trail of Tears with such urgency. She places it in the context of music contemporary to the time, bending time so that everything feels recent. Emily Dickinson, for example, her poetry is so prevalent and I don't think of her as the distant past. She was six years old when Harjo's family was forced to leave their homes.

My family and I went to three independent bookstores for #IndependentBookstoreDay. This was what we got at Bodacious Bookstore in Pensacola. I'm super excited to have gotten the freebie Kawakami. My husband got the Yanagihara.

I read this collection as part of #BigReadHawaii & the #NationalPoetryMonthChallenge through my local library & took part in a Zoom book discussion with a UH Professor Emeritus this week. Beautiful, powerful & moving. The discussion host mentioned we should listen to the book read by the author & available through the library (& part of my Audible membership too) & a did that today—even more moving & immersive. I am no poetry expert & like⬇️

• ModernMrsDarcy.com #MMD book flight pick for April 2022 #MMDBookClub (5 poetry collections flight picks this month)

Getting a little head start on National Poetry Month (April 2022). 144 pages of Poetry, history, indigenous Americans, Trails of Tears, and more. Eye-opening and thought provoking.

#native #poetrymatters @TheSpineView

Lazy sundays filled with books and buddyreads are the best ❤️

This book is so gorgeous- so many brilliant lines!

New in and next up: Buddyread with @Tanisha_A 🥰

This is a beautiful collection.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

Impactful poems. Joy Harjo reflects on the historical events that affected her ancestors and the Native Americans; she also shares her experiences from her own life and family. So much loss, grief, injustice.

#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Beautiful. Thankful to this introduction to Joy Harjo. I will definitely be reading more.
#BookSpin #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Let the November reading commence. Here‘s my #Bookspinbingo card. My #Bookspin book is the tagged poetry by Poet Laureate of the US, Native Any Harjo. #DoubleSpin is the MG book, Indian No More.

❤️
#joy #poetrymatters @TheSpineView

A book of beautiful poems centering Native Americans, specifically the Muskogee Creek Nation.

@TheBookHippie along with my knitting needles and new water bottle (I‘ve had the worst luck with them so far this year), this arrived today!!!
#JoyHarjo #AnAmericanSunrise #poetry #integrateyourshelf #indigenousvoices

A heart breaking, wonderful collection of poems. I also appreciated the historical context throughout the book as realised my actual knowledge of some of these events was nearly zero.
Such a strong sense of sadness and injustice 💔
Thanks Rachel 😘
#booked2021 #poetry

😢😢

#weeklyforecast
This weeks reads may come from these 😁
Reading some poetry this morning.

I listened to this short but powerful poetry collection last night before going to bed. #Freebie #AudiblePlus 🎧 Joy Harjo is the first Native American to be honored with title US Poet Laureate. Here she invokes the hardships, violence and displacement that has marked hundreds of years of Native American history, sharing her own families plight as they were forced to walk the Trail of Tears. She also blends current US policy to the narrative 👇🏼

#ancestors #poetrymatters @TheSpineView

So-so is my reaction, not a criticism of Harjo's work. I realized my poetry-reading skills are out-of-practice. Reading poems demands a different consciousness than prose. Yikes - why did I stray away from poetry for so long??

I've heard that Harjo is brilliant live, and she uses music and song both as a poetic device and as themes. Next time, I'll find her on audio or video. I feel like I'm missing out by reading only text. #dw2021 #21myown

6: X. Closest thing is Interior Chinatown (Yu)
7: 35 of my books fall under this category! I‘ll pick Hamnet.
8: tagged, plus 4 other audio editions of poetry
9: All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (Taylor) + a few others in ongoing series, so might not count as last.
10: Watershed (Vandersloop) + 16 more in this category
11: At least 8 fall into this category, including Butter Honey Pig Bread (Ekwuyasi) & All I Ask (Crocker)
#readharder

Reading Envy Podcast Episode 208: Thriving in Marginalia with Lauren

It's the last regular episode of the year, featuring frequent guest Lauren. We talk reading around the world, different ways of interacting with other readers, poetry, and more.

Follow the link to listen and subscribe:
tinyurl.com/readingenvy208

Quite wonderful. I listened to the audiobook, read (and sung) by the author, and would thoroughly recommend it. I will, however, look out for a print copy, as I‘d like to spend more time with some of the poems.

These poems are a very personal look at the legacy of the trail of tears, as Harjo returns to her ancestral homeland and tells her family stories. Beautifully written, and so many things that I just had no clue about. 💔 One to read again.

For Earth‘s Grandsons

Stand tall, no matter height, how dark your skin
Your spirit is all colors within
You are made of the finest woven light
From the iridescent love that formed your mothers, fathers
Your grandparents all the way back on the spiral road–
There is no end to this love [...]
You will make it through.

Full poem: https://aboutplacejournal.org/article/for-earths-grandsons/

Current listen. Well, this is beautiful. I should probably read more poetry.

A reminder on this #IndigenousPeoplesDay

Multitasking. Watching Joy Harjo with Jackie Kay at the Edinburgh International Writers Festival while knitting. Travelling while staying home. #Indigenous #poetry

Gorgeous.

I'm taking part in #thesealeychallenge and so far I haven't been doing so well. But I found this audiobook on Hoopla and I'm jumping in! 😁

ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪs ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ sᴏ ғᴀʀ. ʜᴀs ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏғ ᴛᴀʙs😂. sᴏᴍᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴘᴏᴇᴍs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ.
#poetry #sadbooks #poems

#FlyHighJuly Day 16: #Remember - a poem by Joy Harjo.

I‘m so so grateful for @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage and @Cinfhen running the #booked2020 giveaway and I still can‘t believe I‘m so lucky this week! I treated myself to this beautiful paper American edition of Joy Harjo‘s poetry coming to me all the way from the states. Thanks so much!