Catching the Light

“Her musings on the ‘story we call “America”’ hit home, and her enduring message—that writing can be redemptive—resonates: ‘To write is to make a mark in the world, to assert “I am.”’ The result is a rousing testament to the power of storytelling.”—Publishers Weekly

“Readers will be fascinated to learn how poetry, performance, song, Native culture, and an unparalleled work ethic came together to inform [Harjo’s] artistic journey. . . . Always illuminating, Harjo writes as if the creative journey has been the destination all along.”—Kirkus Reviews

Selected by Time as one of the best new books of October 2022

“For Harjo, poetry is both a calling and a necessity for survival. . . . Most of these fifty vignettes get right to the heart of the matter—as is Harjo’s way. We need writing to make sense of the world.”—Yvonne C. Garrett, Brooklyn Rail

“Catching the Light is rich with Harjo’s observations about language and place and imagination and the work they do in the world—observations gathered over the course of a lifetime as a poet, memoirist, musician and three-term U.S. poet laureate.”—Jane Marcellus, Chapter 16/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Included on Book Riot’s list of “22 Must-Read Indigenous Authors”

“A must-read for any fan of poetry and literature. This new memoir contains Harjo’s ruminations on a half-century of writing and activism.”—Bustle, “October Best Books”

Praise for Joy Harjo:
 
“I turn and return to Harjo’s poetry for her breathtaking complex witness and for her world-remaking language.”—Adrienne Rich
 
“[Harjo’s] poetry is light and elixir, the very best prescription for us in wounded times.”—Sandra Cisneros, The Millions