U.S. poet laureate is coming to Macon. Here’s what you need to know.
U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will be in Macon on Feb. 19 for two poetry readings, book signings and question-and-answer sessions.
She will be at Middle Georgia State University at 11 a.m. and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park at 5:30 p.m.
Harjo is Muscogee (Creek) Nation, so her visit isn’t just a remarkable chance to hear the nation’s poet laureate, it’s significant because her ancestors were the last Native Americans to inhabit the Ocmulgee Mounds and lived throughout Georgia and surrounding states as business people, farmers, artisans and otherwise with their families and friends before being driven out following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
That act set in motion a series of removals that came to be known as the Trail of Tears.
Also significant: Harjo is the first Native American among 23 previous U.S. Poet Laureates.
“It’s hard to overstate how important it is for the region, for Ocmulgee Mounds park and for Middle Georgia State University to have a poet and person of Joy Harjo’s renown who is Muscogee (Creek) come and speak at her nation’s ancestral home,” said Matt Jennings, president of the Ocmulgee Mounds Association and a professor of history at MGA. Jennings has written extensively on the history of Macon, the mounds and the Muscogee (Creek) among other native peoples.
“To me, a poet laureate is the soul of a nation, and to have her represent that in the historical heart of the Muscogee (Creek) is so very poignant, so moving,” he said. “Much of her work, and certainly her most recent book, deals with people and homeland, loss and revitalization. That’s exactly what her being here represents — that story of loss and forced removal but yet remaining a people.”
Born in Tulsa, Okla., Harjo is an award winning musician and recording artist – she plays saxophone – in addition to her poetic acclaim. Her latest written work is “An American Sunrise.” Among her work is a memoir called “Crazy Brave.” She’s long been a poetry and arts advocate as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and founding board member of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.
Harjo said in a telephone interview she’s currently at work on a second memoir and is part of a team putting together a Norton Anthology of Native American poetry.
And she’s no stranger to Macon.
“Yes, I’ve been here two or three times and visited the mounds,” she said. “And I’ve spoken at the school before. (Harjo was invited and spoke at what is now MGA in the 1990s.) When you walk the earth in Georgia, you see it’s a dense, beautiful land and that it’s no wonder our people loved it so before being forcibly and illegally removed. It’s sad and disturbing that there’s no real Muscogee presence here now, no major presence of native people, because it makes it seem we and our culture just vanished. We didn’t. I think it’s important we not live in the past and I believe the mounds should be about a living people who went through great hardship but here we are still. We exist and we’re one of America’s voices, a voice that needs to be heard. It’s important the mounds be a monument to the living and not to death.”
Mary Wearn, English professor and dean of the School of Arts & Letters at MGA, was instrumental in bringing Harjo to Macon.
“It was serendipity,” Wearn said. “It began as a pipe dream even thinking of having someone of the stature of our nation’s poet laureate come but we connected and through the university and partnerships with the community, it’s happening. It really is a community partnership that we’re proud to be part of and serve in more and more.”
Wearn called Harjo’s work “exemplary” and said it fits with the mission of her school.
“Joy Harjo talks about how poetry can combat hate and help bring about justice,” Wearn said. “She opens an important world of diversity to us and does it with such a beautiful use of language that it greatly increases its impact. And how crazy is it that she’s the first Native American out of 23 poet laureates? There are great things happening with Native American literature and it’s about time. Joy Harjo is such a role model in the beauty and excellence of her work, I can’t express how honored we are to welcome her.”
At MGA, Harjo will appear in the Knight’s Volleyball Gymnasium with potential overflow seating in the school’s theatre. At Ocmulgee Mounds, depending on crowd and weather, officials say she will appear outside or within the park’s visitor center. All appearances are free to the public.
Wearn said Georgia’s poet laureate, Chelsea Rathburn, will also be in Macon on Feb. 19 to help welcome Harjo. On Feb. 21, Harjo will be featured in Columbus, Ga. at the Carson McCullers Literary Festival at Columbus State University.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
What: U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo
When & Where: 11 a.m. Feb. 19 at Middle Georgia State University & 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Cost: Free
Information: www.joyharjo.com, www.mga.edu & www.nps.gov/ocmu
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OUT AND ABOUT
Here’s a sampling of other events coming in the next few days. For more, check www.macon365.com.
▪ Shovels & Rope – 8 p.m. Feb. 14, live music on Valentine’s Day at Hargray Capitol Theatre, 382 Second St., www.hargraycapitoltheatre.com. $22 and up
▪ Valentine’s with David Dingess – 9 p.m. Feb. 14, love songs at JBA, 499 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., www.facebook.com/jbamacon. Free
▪ E&J Valentine’s Live: 7 p.m. Feb. 14, spoken word and comedy at Z Beans Coffee, 1635 Montpelier Ave., (478) 200-6136, www.zbeanscoffee.com. Free
▪ “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow” with Kevin Smith Live – 8 p.m. Feb. 20, Smith comes to Macon with “Reboot” and a discussion at Hargray Capitol Theatre, 382 Second St., www.hargraycapitoltheatre.com. $35 and up
Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.