Joy Harjo Art Quotations

Bottom line, I have to follow what my soul says, or my spirit. And my spirit said that poetry and the arts should be without borders, should be without political borders.

The homeland affects you directly: it affects your body; it affects the collective mind and the collective heart and the collective spirit.

I have more questions than answers in this world as do most poets and writers. The field of memory we exist in is absolutely encompassing and is both a question and answer. It is memory that provides the heart with impetus, fuels the brain, and propels the corn plant from seed to fruit.

My house is the red earth . . . .

It's important as a writer to do my art well and do it in a way that is powerful and beautiful and meaningful, so that my work regenerates the people, certainly Indian people, and the earth and the sun. And in that way we all continue forever.

It is memory that provides the heart with impetus, fuels the brain, and propels the corn plant from seed to fruit.