English Language and Literature ETDs

Publication Date

5-25-2000

Abstract

The poetry of Native American poet Joy Harjo, one of our living and pre-eminent poets in the United States, is a rich blend of oral and contemporary written traditions.

This dissertation examines three themes in her work: memory, language, and transformation. Each of these elements is present in Native oral ceremonial traditions where memory functions to return individuals and communities to a sense of wholeness and happiness; where language serves as a powerful tool to enact healing; and where spiritual (and sometimes physical) transformation of self and community is made possible through the juncture of all three elements. Harjo's poetry replicates these aspects of oral tradition while at the same time incorporating contemporary traditions that view poetry's role as one of witness and resistance to acts of social and political injustice.

Degree Name

English

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

English

First Committee Member (Chair)

Patricia Clark Smith

Second Committee Member

Patricia Clark Smith

Third Committee Member

Minrose C. Gwin

Fourth Committee Member

Vera Norwood

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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