In Mad Love and War

by Joy Harjo

Book Overview

Sacred and secular poems of the Creek Tribe.

Winner of the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award (1990)
Winner of the William Carlos Williams Award (1991)
2019 United States Poet Laureate

Joy Harjo is a powerful voice for her Creek (Muscogee) tribe ("a stolen people in a stolen land"), for other oppressed people, and for herself. Her poems, both sacred ad secular, are written with the passions...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081951182X
• ISBN13: 9780819511829
• Release Date: March 1990
• Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
• Length: 79 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Poetry "with a revolutionary fire"

"In Mad Love and War" is a collection of poetry by Joy Harjo. According to the author bio at the end of the book, Harjo is a member of the Creek (Muscogee) Native American nation, and grew up in Oklahoma and New Mexico. Much of this book reflects this heritage: "We were a stolen people in a stolen land" (from "Autobiography")."In Mad Love" contains many cultural and historical allusions embedded in a complex web of surreal imagery and autobiographical-sounding fragments. Harjo seems to be trying to transcend both linguistic and cultural barriers; she notes that "All poets / understand the final uselessness of words" ("Bird"). She does not only focus on the Native American experience; she also has a number of African-American cultural references. She takes us, among other places, to a prison riot in West Virginia and a political discussion in Nicaragua.Although I found some of the book opaque when I first read it, I found "In Mad Love" to be very rewarding on second and third readings. Harjo's language is often quite startling, and achingly beautiful. Much of the book seeks to find a link between the contemporary urban experience and the world of myth and nature. Throughout the book are many references to animals: the trickster Rabbit, "iridescent dragonflies," "a / turtle's nose above water," etc.Harjo writes of flooding the city "with a revolutionary fire" ("City of Fire"), and indeed the book does have a strong political flavor. Her melding of political commitment, intimate passion, myth, and multicultural awareness makes "In Mad Love and War" a demanding and intriguing read.

Truthful and technically excellent

Harjo is an excellent poet - her poetry is always truthful even if the truth is one that we prefer not to face. This book contains a number of prose poems as well as modern verse; it is clear that Harjo writes what is true and allows it to take the form in which it presents itself.This collection includes poems that explore human relationships, music, death ... universal concerns written about in a way that recognizes and uses the universality while selecting the images from her Cree background. We are privileged to glimpse another way of relating to the world while being presented with the difficulties of growing up in a minority culture. "At five I was designated to string beads in kindergarten. At seven I skew how to play chicken and win. And at fourteen I was drinking."But her command of the language amkes even the starkest reality beautiful: "I am fragile, a piece of pottery smoked from fire / made of dung, /the design drawn from nightmares. I am an arrow, painted / with lighning ...Harjo is one of the best contemporary poets. Try any of her books and you'll see a poet, a musician, a painter all sharing their vision with you.

Emotionally Insightful and Engaging

Although many of the poems in this book are difficult and dense, the writing and ideas are so engaging that the reading is worth the effort. Native American themes run throughout the book, as well as how language prohibits/encourages communication. The book is separated into two parts, "The Wars" and "Mad Love." The poems of "The Wars" are at times very depressing, especially "Strange Fruit," Harjo's version of a Lewis Allan song, and "For Anna Mae Pictou Aquash...", but as such are valuable insights into cultural and personal conflicts. In "Mad Love," the poems are much less concrete, and sometimes difficult to understand. The reward comes in the discovery of personal meaning. Personal favorites include "Fury of Rain," "Unmailed Letter," and "Blue Elliptic." I loved this poetry book, and continue to go back to it time and time again for beautiful quotes and inspiration.