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When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry Kindle Edition

by Joy Harjo (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 616 ratings
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Selected as one of Oprah Winfrey's "Books That Help Me Through"



United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into the first historically comprehensive Native poetry anthology.


This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country, whose literary traditions stretch back centuries. Opening with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize–winner N. Scott Momaday, the book contains powerful introductions from contributing editors who represent the five geographically organized sections. Each section begins with a poem from traditional oral literatures and closes with emerging poets, ranging from Eleazar, a seventeenth-century Native student at Harvard, to Jake Skeets, a young Diné poet born in 1991, and including renowned writers such as Luci Tapahanso, Natalie Diaz, Layli Long Soldier, and Ray Young Bear. When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through offers the extraordinary sweep of Native literature, without which no study of American poetry is complete.

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  1. Print length
    480 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    August 25, 2020
  6. File size
    3962 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This anthology is revelatory and stunning.… It shows the remarkable strength and diversity of Native poetry, which vitalizes all of American poetry. It is essential reading."
― Arthur Sze, National Book Award–winning author of Sight Lines

About the Author

Jennifer Elise Foerster is the author of Bright Raft in the Afterweather. She lives in California.

LeAnne Howe is the author, most recently, of Savage Conversations. She teaches at the University of Georgia – Athens.

Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is the author of nine poetry collections and two memoirs, most recently Poet Warrior. The recipient of the 2023 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, and the 2017 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, she lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07ZTTF3C5
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (August 25, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 25, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3962 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 616 ratings

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  1. Joy Harjo

    Joy Harjo

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    Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned poet, performer, and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Harjo is the author of ten books of poetry, several plays, children's books, and two memoirs; she has also produced seven award-winning music albums and edited several anthologies. Her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Tulsa Artist Fellowship. She is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and Board of Directors Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center.

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  2. Jennifer Elise Foerster

    Jennifer Elise Foerster

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
616 global ratings
Phenomenal Content. Poor Quality Contol
4 Stars
Phenomenal Content. Poor Quality Contol
I purchased this book as a gift and LOVED the poetry. There’s a wonderful arrays of voices from different times, places and lenses. I also love that there are sections detailing each poet. My only gripe is my book unfortunately came with visible water damage and as it was purchased as a gift this was extremely disappointing.
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Top reviews from the United States

Momooshka
5.0 out of 5 stars Gift for Native American friend.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
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She loves it. Poetry from a variety of tribes.
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D. Rachlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and important anthology
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2021
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Anything Joy Harjo writes or anthologizes is a monumental work. And that certainly describes this anthology. Each section is by region and then each poem is arranged historically. This is a huge collection of work by Indigenous writers that will be a valued addition to a growing series of anthologies. It only covers the 50 United States. I would love to see a companion volume for Canada and Mexico/Central America. The anthology called "Sing" is useful for those regions.
9 people found this helpful
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Margo Simmons
5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Poetry Anthology!
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
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Absolutely excellent!!!!!
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Chesapeake Bishop
5.0 out of 5 stars A veritable treasury of our Native Nations' poets
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020
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As I received the book only a few days ago, just the mere preliminary browse satisfies in that the inner ear of the spirit awakens to the universal beauty and angst of poetic line and thought - so that the sanctity of such lush lines as in "An Agony of Place" by Hawaiian poet Haunani-Kay Trask reverberates, no matter what my, or your, background may be - and I am sure that such a browse would continue to satisfy for myself, being well read in Native Nations history and literature. But yourself? Even I will need to pull such latter volumes off the shelf to find the lens of nearly all of the poets in our Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's splendid anthology because I want to know each of them, their nation, tribe and place, for the diapter of the heart to see the spiritual page with their individual pens. ... And while I am on the browse, let me mention also the Anishinaabe Gordon Henry, Jr., from White Earth, Minnesota, his "November Becomes the Sky with Suppers for the Dead." And then Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bamewawage Zhikaquay), 1800-1842, "To the Pine Tree," as she intersperses her native Ojibwe tongue with Americanish, and think 'Joyce Kilmer, eat you heart out'. And on and on.

Yes, you'll love the book for the browse alone. But if you really want to go into these poets' and their voice of place, it helps to have two works at your elbows, both edited by the indefatigable Anton Treuer, "Indian Nations of North America" and "Atlas of Indian Nations" (both National Geographic).

Odds and ends. Miss Harjo annotates brief bios of each poet, including nation, tribe and place. There's much to rejoice in. My only complaint is that there is no hardcover edition - but then, this is America, softcover makes the work available to the masses. Go, buy.
30 people found this helpful
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Shamama
5.0 out of 5 stars Poems We All Need
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2020
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A wonderful, and much needed compilation of Indigenous/First Nations poets that includes well known and rising stars. If you love poetry, you need this book, and if you think you don’t like poetry, you definitely need this book.
A perfect gift!
10 people found this helpful
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SummerMeadow8
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2022
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Please seek out reviews by those with similar voices to the authors/editors, that is not me.
This is a giant anthology of native nations poetry. On a personal note, I thought it would take me all year to read - both because of its size and because I’m new to poetry and it sometimes takes me awhile to read and process. This was so engaging and the range of poetry was vast and intriguing, it kept pulling me in. I love the bio for each poet. I also enjoyed the information but the editors for each area section, as well as in the intro and outro.
I felt like there were a lot or similar themes, as if a thread was weaving them all together. It bridges two centuries, and within each generation there is a similarity in topic and style I was expecting.
Highly recommend this book for everyone, especially those who live in “America”. It’s an investment for sure but worth your time.
4 people found this helpful
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angel bryant
5.0 out of 5 stars Just buy this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2021
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No words could sum up the brilliant art of this anthology! Have reread several times in just weeks.
If you enjoy modern poetry, if you are interested in indigenous peoples issues, if you've got a Native American friend who tells a great story.., pick up this amazing Norton anthology. Wish this existed 20 years ago when I was a lit major in school. First Nations poets speak beauty, truth, heartbreak, grief, hope, and hopelessness, this work is powerful and inspirational.
3 people found this helpful
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Christopher Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive collection
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2021
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I like the range. I have maps showing the areas where tribes lived and roamed. It helps me round out my understanding of the people and their beliefs. I am trying to understand early America from voices other than pilgrims, from those who nurtured the land. Beautiful stories and expressions.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

BuyAmazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful collection of poetry. Heartfelt and heart wrenching
Reviewed in Canada on January 1, 2021
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Wonderful anthology.
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Ellie
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful anthology
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2020
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Beautiful anthology of poems with a brief biography of each poet. Great book to dip into, learn from and enjoy.
One person found this helpful
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Arlia
5.0 out of 5 stars Transported to new experiences by connection with incredible poets
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2020
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Liked connecting to the experience of the Poets communicated in extraordinary poems wonderful book
One person found this helpful
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