Rachel Martin

Joy Harjo is one of the most revered poets in the United States, and there are all kinds of reasons why that didn't have to happen. She actually studied pre-med in college. But as if to hedge her bets on that particular career choice, she began taking creative writing classes. And in the end, the arts won out. Stability be damned. Joy grew up in Oklahoma as part of the Muscogee Creek Nation.

But her stepfather forced Joy to suppress her creativity. She wasn't even allowed to sing in the house. That creative spirit could have died inside her. But when she was finally out on her own, she realized that making music and telling stories and writing poetry wasn't just something she wanted to do. It was something she had to do.

But her stepfather forced Joy to suppress her creativity. She wasn't even allowed to sing in the house. That creative spirit could have died inside her. But when she was finally out on her own, she realized that making music and telling stories and writing poetry wasn't just something she wanted to do. It was something she had to do.

But her stepfather forced Joy to suppress her creativity. She wasn't even allowed to sing in the house. That creative spirit could have died inside her. But when she was finally out on her own, she realized that making music and telling stories and writing poetry wasn't just something she wanted to do. It was something she had to do.

Since then, she's used her writing to capture the diverse experiences of Native people in this country. And in 2019, she was named the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate. And this spring, she's releasing a new version of her book, For a Girl Becoming. Joy Harjo, welcome to Wildcard. Hi. I'm glad I could be here. I'm so glad you could be here, too.

Since then, she's used her writing to capture the diverse experiences of Native people in this country. And in 2019, she was named the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate. And this spring, she's releasing a new version of her book, For a Girl Becoming. Joy Harjo, welcome to Wildcard. Hi. I'm glad I could be here. I'm so glad you could be here, too.

Since then, she's used her writing to capture the diverse experiences of Native people in this country. And in 2019, she was named the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate. And this spring, she's releasing a new version of her book, For a Girl Becoming. Joy Harjo, welcome to Wildcard. Hi. I'm glad I could be here. I'm so glad you could be here, too.

First round. Memories. One, two, or three. Oh, you're already feeling something for the middle. You're already feeling it. Okay. Where would you go when you needed to escape as a teenager?

First round. Memories. One, two, or three. Oh, you're already feeling something for the middle. You're already feeling it. Okay. Where would you go when you needed to escape as a teenager?

First round. Memories. One, two, or three. Oh, you're already feeling something for the middle. You're already feeling it. Okay. Where would you go when you needed to escape as a teenager?

Yeah. Is there something in particular that you felt that you needed to get away from when you were an adolescent? Or was it just adolescence?

Yeah. Is there something in particular that you felt that you needed to get away from when you were an adolescent? Or was it just adolescence?

Yeah. Is there something in particular that you felt that you needed to get away from when you were an adolescent? Or was it just adolescence?

Oh, interesting.

Oh, interesting.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

One, two, or three. One. One. What's a place that shaped you as much as any person did?