Reading Poetry, Engaging America

As Joy Harjo concludes her appointment as US Poet Laureate, she joined poet and Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander in conversation about the significance of poetry and how the discipline of writing poetry has shaped the lives of both women. Globally renowned as a performer and writer, Harjo is an enrolled member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is the first Native American to serve as the official poet of the United States and only the second person to serve three terms in the role. How does poetry resonate in the current moment?