Remember by Joy Harjo

By: Nicole Taylor, Christina Cylc, and Kylie Davis

Pictured above is author Joy Harjo.

Core Text:

Remember.” Copyright ©1983 by Joy Harjo from ‘She Had Some Horses’ by Joy Harjo. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Summary:

‘Remember’ written by Joy Harjo is a poem that gives the understanding that everything in life is connected somehow. Harjo talks to her readers as if she was giving them a life lesson.  The poem is incredibly detailed and allows readers to picture what is being discussed in the poem as if they are there. In this poem, Harjo writes about nature and how it relates to humans. The author also emphasizes the importance of remembering one’s roots, meaning the ancestors and the struggles they have endured to lead to your existence eventually. One of the most significant elements Harjo emphasizes is ‘identity.’ She wants everyone to remember that our identity comes from recalling our past. Without mistakes or troubles, you can’t be as educated or intelligent. Fascinatingly enough, Harjo has a way of making the title of her poem leave the reader with a task of finding out precisely what Harjo wants you to ‘Remember.’ 

Pictured above is a decorated version of the poem.

Teacher resources:

bycrazzybharath3696, P. (2021, June 7). Remember by JOY HARJO Poem analysis and summary. Unread Poets Society. https://unreadpoetssociety.com/2020/10/30/remember-by-joy-harjo-poem-analysis/. 

This source above was chosen because it details the author Joy Harjo while interpreting the poem line by line. This source is credible and accurate when describing the history of Harjo and the meaning behind each line of the poem. Whenever I struggled to understand a line from ‘Remember,’ I relied on this source to walk me through a different perspective of what the line’s meaning was. I would recommend this source to anyone who would like to scan for the poem or find the meaning of the words used. The interpretation line by line is easier for someone who may not comprehend poetry well. The explanation provided is in-depth yet straightforward. 

Forbes Jack D. Forbes, Jack D. “Indigenous Americans: Spirituality And Ecos.” American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2021. Web. 04 Aug. 2021.

https://www.amacad.org/publication/indigenous-americans-spirituality-and-ecos

This source was chosen because it provides good insight into Native American culture. This is closely related to this poem for a few reasons; one being that the author is a part of the Muscogee tribe, which allows us to really understand what she is trying to communicate in her writing. Another reason that this is so closely related to the poem is because this article discusses the history behind the Native American culture and explains how and why they place emphasis on a connection between human and earth. It discusses how they refer to the earth as ‘Mother Earth,’ who is a living being and has provided humans with ‘her’ gifts. The text also informs readers how many indigenous people see the world as a beautiful creation that is extremely powerful and has feelings. This aligns with some of the messages in the poem about being thankful for the earth. Another topic that is touched on is the importance of family and respecting one’s ancestors, which is communicated in Harjo’s poem. Overall this source is very important because it allows readers to to fully understand the poem by informing them of the history and culture behind it. 

“Incredible Bridges: “Remember” by Joy Harjo.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Web. 04 Aug. 2021.

https://poets.org/lesson-plan/incredible-bridges-remember-joy-harjo

I chose this source above for a couple of reasons. As a future teacher, this source stuck out to me because of the layout. It takes the poem ‘Remember’ and goes through a lesson plan. In this Source, you can see the literary standards that could align with the poem and lesson. The source would be helpful because it looks at Indigenous / African Americans inside the lesson plan related to Joy Harjo. Since she comes from a tribal background and is considered Indigenous, it pairs together nicely. Also, one of the best parts about this source is the video that is included. In the video, you can see Joy Harjo herself reading her poem ‘Remember.’ This is an excellent source for someone to view if they would like to see her and hear her voice over her work. 

“Joy Harjo’s Inaugural Reading as U.S. Poet Laureate.” doi:10.3998/mpub.10584.cmp.3. 

We decided to choose this source because of the focus on Joy Harjo, the poet. We also chose this source because it mentions some of her more famous works and describes them (summarizes them) by telling what her purpose was for each one and her style while writing it. Harjo received just about every notable poetry award that she could receive from the literary world. All of her work is a way of sharing her survival and uses nature to structure her work. In Harjo’s writings, she refers to herself witnessing events when she says “I,” and she will more often use “we” as her way of saying she was physically there; she was involved. Harjo likes to be brutal with her work; she is a political poet and exposes the truth about the world. Harjo investigates your responsibility toward your culture and the fear of being buried under its weight. This source would be beneficial for someone who wanted to learn more about her way of writing and the reasons behind her poems. 

“Joy Harjo.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 05 Aug. 2021.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/joy-harjo

This source was chosen to provide more of a detailed description of the author Joy Harjo and her life. Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, OK. She is a member of the Muscogee nation and has earned her BA from the University of New Mexico. Most often, Harjo’s poetry focuses on feminism and social justice while incorporating our nation’s history as well. Her work also focuses on nature and centers around the need for “remembrance and transcendence. Harjo says that she feels that her writing is a way for her to free herself and that writing poetry is her way of fulfilling the responsibility to the “sources” that she is. Harjo is a critically-acclaimed poet winning many awards and was named U.S. poet laureate in June of 2019. She first started publishing poetry in yeaHarjo was considered with r 1975, and her first volume was a chapter book that contained nine different poems in the volume. As mentioned in previous sources, Harjo was concerned with politics and keeping tradition in poetry. She often tends to explore her heritage while creating poetry. 

“Critique of JOY Harjo’s Remember – Free Courseworks Examples.” Woodstock Online. 13 Mar. 2020. Web. 13 Aug. 2021.

https://woodstock-online.com/critique-joy-harjos-remember/

This source is a critique of the Poem “Remember” by Harjo. This lyric poem focuses on what is needed to become human, including remembering your roots and connecting to nature.  This poem connects to today’s world by telling us to observe our surroundings and keeping cultural traditions. Harjo often repeats “remember” throughout the poem and wants us to remember our family members before us, who have had so many responsibilities. In this poem, Harjo repeats several aspects of nature, hinting that connecting to nature can benefit your body. She refers to these aspects of nature as “she’ which alludes to the readers that the female gender is more prominent in this poem. She tries to focus on people communicating and interacting with your culture. Harjo also tells her readers to look back at the past and see what lessons they have learned. She tries to tell her readers that even though some of those experiences may have been bad, they should still never forget them. Always remember your past, and learn from it, the good and the bad. 

Joy Harjo, and Tanaya Winder. Soul Talk, Song Language : Conversations with Joy Harjo. Wesleyan University Press, 2011. EBSCOhost,  search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=399905&site=ehost-live 

This source is found on Millersville University’s library database. It is an article written about an interview conducted with Joy Harjo, the author of ‘Remember,’ and many other poems and texts. The interview with Harjo touches on many different things. Because she has a solid connection to her Native American heritage. A lot of that is communicated through her writing. During the interview, Harjo is asked to reflect on her upbringing and how her roots have shaped her into the author she is today. She is very proud of her heritage and wants this to be apparent to her readers.

Literary analysis & literary devices:

Overall, ‘Remember’ uses many literary devices to communicate the author’s message that humans are with the earth. Each line has a different meaning and says many things, even in the few words written. Harjo uses repetition at the beginning of every stripe to emphasize the importance of remembering such things as your ancestors or where you came from. The author also uses many literary devices in her poems. There are many uses of metaphors, comparing humans to part of the earth. She also uses personification in her writing to further prove that nature is alive and not just something humans should take for granted. This poem is a free verse poem. Being a free verse poem, there is no rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form. This poem also gives the author a more significant opportunity to write how they wish, without meeting specific requirements. In ‘Remember,’ the only part that often repeats is the word remember. Harjo uses this word to start many lines and to get the meaning of her poem across. Throughout the poem, ‘Remember,’ one of the literary devices present often is enjambment. This is when the poet decides to cut off a line before its natural stopping point. Specific locations where this occurs are the transition between lines four and five and lines twelve and thirteen. One more major section where this happens is in the final lines of the poem. The purpose of enjambment is used to allow ideas to continue beyond the limitations of one line… it is also to reinforce specific concepts within any of the lines themselves. 

Examples Of Literary Devices From The Poem

  • Repetition: 

The word ‘Remember’ is said at the beginning of each line.

  • Metaphor: 

Line 11 “Remember the earth whose skin you are.” She is comparing the reading to the earth. 

Lines 14-16 “Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families and their histories too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems.” Harjo is comparing nature to “alive” poems. 

  • Personification: 

Line 3 “Remember the moon, know who she is.” 

Line 17-18 “Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe.”

  • Enjambment: 

This occurs at the transition between lines four and five and lines twelve and thirteen. Enjambment can also be seen in the final lines of the poem.

discussion questions:
  • How do you think this poem would be different if it included a rhyme scheme instead of free verse? 
  • In what ways does Harjo describe the relationship between humans and the earth? 
  • How can you relate this poem to your ancestral tree? 
  • What do you think is the overall theme of the poem? In your opinion, which line(s) do you think conveys the theme of the poem? 
  • Harjo titled this poem ‘Remember,’ with a purpose. What is she trying to have the reader “Remember?” 
  • Harjo wanted readers to learn from their past. What do you think Harjo could have learned from her past that she mentioned in her poem?
hashtags:

#RememberYourRoots  #Ancestors  #Growing  #Nature  #LoveTheEarth  

#IndigenousAmericans  #Identity #CreationOfTheUniverse #FreeVersePoem 

#LearnFromYourPast #ConnectWithNature #Observe