Joy Harjo, She Had Some Horses

Christina Giacona (University of Oklahoma)

Ed. by Padraig Kirwan, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.6: Indigenous Writing and Culture of North America - United States.
Vol. editors: Joshua Bartlett (High Point University), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Sarah Henzi (Simon Fraser University), Padraig Kirwan (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1983

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem

Resources

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Joy Harjo’s experience, both as a world traveler and as a descendant of a culture that prides itself on the importance and spiritual nature of ancestry, are achingly present in her poem “She Had Some Horses”. Published in 1983 by Thunder’s Mountain Press, one of the elements most commonly found in the collection of poems is a realization and obsession with the unique universality of humanity that becomes revealed through the incredible diversity of the world’s landscapes, cultures, religions, cities, and social situations. It is in this double-vision of unique and singular personalization and ubiquitous and vague universality that “She Had Some Horses” is able to don the mantle of religious chant while retaining the undeniable humanity and ever-present personality of its…

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1373 words

Citation: Giacona, Christina. "She Had Some Horses". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 January 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=29617, accessed 21 November 2024.]

Joy Harjo, She Had Some Horses

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