Joy Harjo, the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, will be the Transylvania County Library’s Fall 2025 J.R. McDowell speaker. Harjo will present An Evening with Joy Harjo on Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Porter Center at Brevard College. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the program is free and open to the public. Free general admission tickets are available at the Transylvania County Library beginning Wednesday, October 1.
A celebrated poet, musician, and author, Harjo was the first Native American appointed as U.S. Poet Laureate and only the second to serve three terms. A member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, her work has inspired readers and audiences for more than four decades. Harjo has published eleven books of poetry and several works of prose, including memoirs, children’s books and anthologies. Her honors include the Poetry Society of America’s 2024 Frost Medal, Yale’s 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry and a 2024 National Humanities Medal, among many others.
In addition to her writing, Harjo is an accomplished saxophonist and vocalist who has performed worldwide, often blending music with poetry to create immersive, lyrical experiences. Her presentations interweave poems, stories and reflections that address themes of resilience, identity, memory and our relationship with the natural world. She is widely celebrated for connecting personal history with collective experience, offering audiences a vision of art as a force for healing and renewal.
Harjo’s newest memoir, Girl Warrior, will be released in early October, adding to a body of work that continues to shape American literature and public conversation. Following the program, Highland Books will offer Harjo’s books for sale and signing.
This program is made possible by the Transylvania County Library Foundation in partnership with Brevard College.
