Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters
Joy Harjo: Inhabiting Home on Earth
Thursday, May 21
7pm
The Playouse
$51.70
Livestream option available!
$12.55
Runtime
90 minutes, no intermission
Age Recommendation
6 and up
As part of its Finding Home series, the Wisconsin Academy presents Joy Harjo, internationally renowned performer, writer and 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Known for her powerful storytelling and deep exploration of Indigenous identity, Harjo’s work invites reflection on what it means to inhabit our home on earth—to belong to a place, a people, a history and a future.
Through a tapestry of poetry and music, Harjo will navigate the complexities of land, memory and community resilience. Her perspective as a celebrated artist and citizen of the Muscogee Nation offers a vital lens on issues such as colonization, cultural survival and the power of healing. She will be joined by Karen Lincoln Michel, a cultural consultant and story producer for PBS Wisconsin, who will serve as a moderator. Join us for an intimate journey into the songs and stories that define our shared search for belonging.
Following the performance, Joy Harjo will sign books by Rotunda Stage, with books available for sale from A Room of One’s Own.
This is a facility rental event presented by an independent organization separate from Overture Center for the Arts.
This is a hybrid event. Attendees may register to attend in person or online via a livestream.
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Thu, May 21, 2026
7:00 PM
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Thu, May 21, 2026
7:00 PM
Meet the Speakers
Guest Speaker
Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo is an internationally acclaimed performer and writer of the Muscogee Nation and the first Native American poet to serve as the U. S. Poet Laureate (2019-2022). She is the author of 11 books of poetry, several plays, children's books, non-fiction works and two memoirs, “Crazy Brave” and “Poet Warrior.” Her many honors include the National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Harjo holds the Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship from the Kettering Foundation and is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She lives on the Muscogee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma.
Moderator
Karen Lincoln Michel
Karen Lincoln Michel is a cultural consultant and story producer for PBS Wisconsin. Previously, she served as president, CEO and chief editorial officer of IndiJ Public Media, a nonprofit news organization that covers the Indigenous world through digital, broadcast and social media platforms. She has written extensively about Native American issues as a freelancer and was a columnist for The New York Times Syndicate.
Michel has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, a master’s degree in journalism from Marquette University and an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters from Marquette.
Finding Home Series Sponsors
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Governor’s Mansion Inn
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The Boldt Family Fund, Incorporated
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