HARJO, JOY (1951– ). A Short Biography of Joy Harjo. – HoCoPoLitSo (Howard County Poetry and Literature Society), in partnership with the Howard County Conservancy will present a family-focused afternoon of poetry and nature with acclaimed poet Joy Harjo reading from her works at 3 PM on Sunday, October 5, 2008, at the Howard County Conservancy, 10520 Old Frederick Road, Woodstock, Maryland 21163-0175. Her father was a sheet-metal worker from a famous Creek family. Transcript. Move as if all things are possible." Her parents divorced due to her father's drinking habits. Born on May 9, 1951, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Joy Harjo is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Joy Harjo (born Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, and author of Native American Canadian ancestry. Joy Harjo's poetry and music often speak of individual women's experiences while examining larger cultural concerns and Native American traditions. She earned her BA from the University of New Mexico and MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is an enrolled member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 9, 1951, the daughter of a Creek Indian father, Allen W. Foster, and a Cherokee French mother, Wynema Baker Foster. Harjo’s father walked out on the family when she was young, leaving her mother alone to care for Joy and her two younger siblings. She had an abusive father and stepfather with a mother who was not strong enough. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a member of the Muscogee or Creek Nation. Family Joy Harjo was born on May 9th of 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Coming from a family of painters, she originally planned on … 1951) "We are in a dynamic story field, a field of dreaming. In An American Sunrise, Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and … Writer, musician, and current Poet Laureate of the United States Joy Harjo—her surname means “so brave you’re crazy”—was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a member of the Mvskoke (also spelled Muscogee) Creek Nation. Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Harjo’s home was no less broken when her mother remarried several years later. Known primarily as a poet, Harjo has also taught at the college level, played alto saxophone with a band called Poetic Justice, edited literary journals, and … Joy Harjo has been a significant voice in the rejuvenation of indigenous culture. An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo In the early 1800s, the Mvskoke people were forcibly removed from their original lands east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory, which is now part of Oklahoma. Joy Harjo (b. Her parents are Allen W. Foster and Wynema Baker Foster. She didn’t have a great childhood. —Joy Harjo in Literary Mama. Two hundred years later, Joy Harjo returns to her family's lands and opens a dialogue with history. Her father was from a Creek tribe family while her mother had a Cherokee, French, and Irish background. The daughter of Allen W. and Wynema Baker Foster, Harjo was not raised on the reservation. U.S. Then she married someone else… She is the daughter of a Creek father and a Cherokee-French mother. These influences equipped Harjo with the tools to make sense of her difficult childhood. WOODSTOCK, Md. She eventually left home at a young age. As a poet and musician, she was influenced by the activism of the American Indian Movement (AIM) during the 1970s. Joy Harjo is a mother, activist, painter, poet, musician, and author.