LibGuides: Crazy Brave : One Book, One Community for 2020-2021: Crazy Brave

One Book, One Community @ San Juan College

The 'One Book, One Community' committee has selected Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo as the OneBook for the 2020-2021 academic year. This guide has been created to assist students researching various subjects related to Crazy Brave.

'One Book, One Community' originated in 2010 as a two-year Distinguished Teaching Chair project by San Juan College English Professor Traci HalesVass. It is based on the philosophy that a community that opens a book together closes it in greater harmony. It was developed to build a sense of community while promoting literacy. 'One Book, One Community' is intended to promote campus and community dialogue through curriculum projects, discussions and a presentation by the author.

Sections of this guide will be periodically revised. If you need additional information and assistance, please call the SJC Librarians at 505-566-3256.

2020-2021 'One Book, One Community' Selection

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo
Call Number: PS3558.A62423 Z46 2012
ISBN: 9780393073461
Publication Date: 2012-07-09
A spiritual coming-of-age memoir from a poet praised for her "breathtaking complex witness and world-remaking language" (Adrienne Rich). In this transcendent memoir, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry, Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, details her journey to becoming a poet. Born in Oklahoma, the end place of the Trail of Tears, Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice. Narrating the complexities of betrayal and love, Crazy Brave is a memoir about family and the breaking apart necessary in finding a voice. Harjo's tale of a hardscrabble youth, young adulthood, and transformation into an award-winning poet and musician is haunting, unique, and visionary.