A review by yves000
Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems by Joy Harjo

5.0

Joy Harjo’s poetry is consistently incredible. This is the second full collection of hers that I’ve read (She Had Some Horses was the first); each came from a unique place but both were equally powerful. Her voice is gritty and musical and will shake you right out of a poetry slump where same-same insta/contemporary pieces may be lacking a certain command or authenticity (not an attack on genre/style...I often feel like this with my own work so Harjo’s poems help snap me out of it and remind me to stop trying too hard.)

Some favorite pieces include:
“Ah but what about being”
“The first horn I played”
“Forever”
“I thought of all the doors”
“Speaking tree”
“I heard a raven...”
“Everybody has a heartache”
“Fall song”