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avkesner's review against another edition
5.0
I don't read much poetry but loved the audio book of Joy Harjo reading An American Sunrise. Harjo writes of her history -- her ancestors who were removed from their lands- and the impact it has on her today. She writes beautifully about her mother's death, helping us see and understand more about her culture, traditions, and history. This is a beautiful collection that makes you want to sit and savor every word.
cpoole's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
julesanne's review against another edition
4.0
Reaching beyond my normal reads and reading a book of poetry. American Sunrise was reflective and thoughtful. A line from "Break my heart"..." a heart is a fist. It pockets prayers or hold a fist"
kaylecorey's review against another edition
4.0
A stark reminder that America wasn't found, it was stolen.
emilymorgan02's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely and heartbreaking.
“Once there were songs for everything, Songs for planting, for growing, for harvesting, For eating, getting drunk, falling asleep, For sunrise, birth, mind-break, and war. For death (those are the heaviest songs and they Have to be pried from the earth with shovels of grief). Now all we hear are falling-in-love songs and Falling apart after falling-in-love songs.”
“Nobody goes anywhere
though we are always leaving and returning. It's a ceremony.
Sunrise occurs everywhere, in lizard time, human time, or a fern
uncurling time.”
“Once there were songs for everything, Songs for planting, for growing, for harvesting, For eating, getting drunk, falling asleep, For sunrise, birth, mind-break, and war. For death (those are the heaviest songs and they Have to be pried from the earth with shovels of grief). Now all we hear are falling-in-love songs and Falling apart after falling-in-love songs.”
“Nobody goes anywhere
though we are always leaving and returning. It's a ceremony.
Sunrise occurs everywhere, in lizard time, human time, or a fern
uncurling time.”
alandd's review against another edition
1.0
No pude conectar con ninguno de los poemas, no sentía nada sin importar cuántos leyera o cuántas veces los leyera. Me pareció que la autora hablaba de todas estas experiencias, todos los sentimientos, incluso recuerdos y anécdotas familiares, como si le dieran igual, como si no le importara y estuviera más bien siendo obligada a escribir.
I couldn't connect with any of the poems, I didn't feel anything no matter how many I read or how many times I read them. It seemed to me that the author talked about all these experiences, all the feelings, even memories and family anecdotes, as if she didn't care, as if she didn't care and she was more like being forced to write.
I couldn't connect with any of the poems, I didn't feel anything no matter how many I read or how many times I read them. It seemed to me that the author talked about all these experiences, all the feelings, even memories and family anecdotes, as if she didn't care, as if she didn't care and she was more like being forced to write.
joanna_banana's review against another edition
5.0
So powerful. So timely. Thank you, Joy Harjo for your voice. Speaking truth to power in a subtle, beautiful way.