The John Hay Library, home to Brown University’s special collections, has acquired the contemporary papers of acclaimed poet, musician, playwright, author and activist Joy Harjo, who served as the 23rd U.S. poet laureate from 2019 to 2022 as the first Native American to hold that honor.
The acquisition, which primarily consists of Harjo’s materials from 2021 through 2024, advances a commitment at Brown to stewarding scholarly resources that include Native and Indigenous voices and work.
“It’s an honor to have Brown collect items from my creative life,” said Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Nation who received an honorary degree from Brown in May 2024. “To know that they’ll be taken care of with the kind of care and integrity I’ve seen from the library’s curators is quite a gift.”
The collection of personal papers includes drafts of poetry, memoirs, plays and other writing, published works, photographs, journals, material related to events and speaking engagements, correspondence with family, friends and colleagues, emails, social media posts, and scripts from the television show about Indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma, “Reservation Dogs,” in which Harjo appeared.
As part of the acquisition agreement, Harjo will continue to send materials to the John Hay Library on an ongoing basis throughout the duration of her life, adding to the seven boxes of items and wide assortment of digital materials the library has already received.
“Joy Harjo is one of the leading lights of poetry and literature,” said Amanda Strauss, associate university librarian for special collections at Brown and director of the Hay Library. “It’s thrilling that she chose the John Hay Library for the archive of her contemporary work, where it will enhance the library’s historically strong literary collections as well as its growing Native American and Indigenous collections.”
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Library staff are currently preparing the archive for research by organizing and cataloging Harjo’s vast array of materials. When that process concludes, researchers will be able to delve into her body of work and view her writing process, her network of literary and music figures, and her history and activism within Native and Indigenous communities and causes.
“My voice is my voice,” Harjo said. “But sometimes, I think it’s the voice of history, or it’s the voice of ancestors in history, all coming through my particular lens at this place, time and space.”
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Harjo’s earlier papers are archived at the University of Arizona.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
