I am a member of the Muskogee people. I'm a poet, a musician, a dreamer of sorts, a questioner. Like everyone else, I'm looking for answers of some sort or the other.
Joy HarjoRead
When you play a sax, that saxophone is irreverent. It's noisy; it's a trickster... you cannot hide the saxophone in your hands, so it's a good teacher.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The saxophone embodies freedom and spontaneity, teaching us about authenticity and self-expression.
In this quote, Joy Harjo emphasizes the saxophone's vibrant and carefree nature, suggesting that playing this instrument is about embracing its loudness and unpredictability. The saxophone serves as a metaphor for artistic expression and individuality, teaching us not to hide our true selves but rather to celebrate our uniqueness.
Themes
SaxophoneArtAuthenticitySelf-ExpressionMusic
In practice
Example use cases
During a music class about improvisation, remind students of Harjo's quote to encourage uniqueness.
More from Joy Harjo
All quotes →It's important as a writer to do my art well and do it in a way that is powerful and beautiful and meaningful, so that my work regenerates the people, certainly Indian people, and the earth and the sun. And in that way we all continue forever.
Joy HarjoRead
A story matrix connects all of us._x000D_ There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.
Joy HarjoRead
You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your mind or in books or in places where there's live poetry or recordings.
Joy HarjoRead
Bottom line, I have to follow what my soul says, or my spirit. And my spirit said that poetry and the arts should be without borders, should be without political borders.
Joy HarjoRead
I don't like this romanticization of Indian people in which Indian people are looked at as spiritual saviors, as people who have always taken care of the land. We're human beings. But I think different cultures have developed different aspects of humanness.
Joy HarjoRead
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My art will reflect not necessarily conscious politics but the unanalysed politics of my life.
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