Abstract
The integration of the personal and the political has been an engaging topic in analyses of literary texts by authors whose works are known for their political content and activism, as well as an emphasis on social justice. Literary audiences in the United States have been familiar with Joy Harjo and John Trudell, two well-known contemporary Indigenous poets, who have voiced out the concerns of Indigenous people in the face of colonization and injustice happening in their homeland. Within the fusion of the personal and the political, as well as the mythical, the idea of transformation is paramount for Indigenous authors since to move from the state of being colonized to one of being decolonized, transformation is undoubtedly crucial. This paper focuses on the role of memory and the power of language in the process of transformation in the three poems by Joy Harjo and John Trudell. The analysis uses a qualitative methodology in the form of a close reading of literary texts to uncover the interconnectedness of memory and language in transformation. I argue that Native poets experience personal transformation that is critically influenced by the role of ancestral memory and social and historical consciousness in the broader context of Indigenous people’s struggle and resistance, as well as the power of language to see reality differently and affect its change. The analysis is intended to show to what extent the concepts of memory and language are critical in the process of decolonization and the manners in which these texts can be empowering for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences in response to forms of injustice through the integration of the personal, the political, and the mythical.
Highlights
On being asked whether she sees her work as political, Joy Harjo responds by saying: Everything is political, whether you choose to see it that way or not
I argue that Native poets experience personal transformation that is critically influenced by the role of ancestral memory and social and historical consciousness in the wider context of indigenous people‟s struggle and resistance, as well as the power of language to see reality differently and affect its change
The analysis focuses on the ideas of memory and the power of language as they are manifested in the three poems by Joy Harjo and John Trudell
Summary
On being asked whether she sees her work as political, Joy Harjo responds by saying: Everything is political, whether you choose to see it that way or not. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press.Joy Harjo‟s poetry is what we would call political as she addresses crucial issues facing Native people and women, people and women of colour, and other marginalized people. Joy Harjo and other Native poets have such a close engagement with these diverse social issues as well as indigenous people‟s collective memory (including references to elements of indigenous people‟s oral tradition and sacred narratives). Calling Joy Harjo and other Native poets‟ poetry as political would reduce the significance of indigenous people‟s ongoing concerns with the disenfranchisement of their community, land, and culture
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