Joy Harjo about Value of your Life

Joy Harjo has written over a dozen poems, within seven poetry books during the 19th century. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mexico. Joy has been nominated for multiple awards including the American Book Awards, the William Carlos Williams Awards, and many others. Harjo is drawn to myths, legends, folktale, and other values and tends to include them withing her writing to give it her own spin. Joy Harjo is known for more than just poetry.

Harjo is also known for being a teacher, playing the saxophone, becoming a vocalist, and even playing in a band known as “Poetic Justice.” Harjo has published many poetry books in her lifetime, with her first being in 1975 called The Last Song. This poem included ghosts and aliens, all while simultaneously explaining the Native American past. Harjo’s poems allowed for individuals to search for freedom, making her a well-liked poet. Many of Harjo’s poems not only include figures of her imagination, but they also all individually send an underlying message to its reader. Joy Harjo has written many poetry books as well as won many awards and is greatly recognized for her work.

The Poem I decided to analyze is called The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window by Joy Harjo. This poem has many twists and turns and is extremely exciting to read. The title of the poem, The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window, itself is what draws readers in making them questions if this woman has possibly killed herself or was pushed. This poem starts off with the line “She is the woman hanging from the 13th floor window. Her hands are pressed white against the concrete moulding…” This line itself grabs the readers attention and makes them want to continue reading. Someone reading this poem may be thinking “was she pushed?” or “did she jump and change her mind?” The attitude withing this poem can be viewed as sad, but still give readers that “edge of their seat” feeling. Harjo uses lots of imagery and other connotations throughout her books. After this line, Joy Harjo begins painting a picture for her readers. Harjo begins by saying the setting where this woman is, east Chicago. Harjo then continues with her poem explaining how this woman is thinking about her kids, her parents, and her two husbands. Joy begins by moving into the bystanders gasping, shieling their children’s eyes, and some even telling her to jump. Harjo continues to string along readers and pushing them to the edge of their seats. Joy then writes “The woman hangs from the 13th floor window crying for the lost beauty of her own life,” allowing readers to believe she is going to plummet to her death. Harjo then shifts to the woman looking back on her own life, either falling from the 13th floor, or climbing back up. This shift leaves Harjo’s readers to create their own ending.

It seems Joy Harjo is leaving her readers with a particularly important message: value your life and others lives, as they may end sooner than you could imagine. Harjo executed this poem very precisely in grabbing her readers and ensuring she holds onto them. She built her career from the ground up and has earned every award she has been given. Joy Harjo wrote this poem, and all her others, with the intent to please her viewers while still giving them their own sense of freedom. 

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