Remember

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1982

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Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“She Had Some Horses” by Joy Harjo (1983)

This is the title poem of Harjo’s first book. It was one of the first poems to earn her public praise, with its sincere exploration of the contradictory truths of human experience. Like “Remember” from the same collection, it uses repetition to create a strong rhythm. Harjo has also released a spoken track of this poem with saxophone music.

“Talking with the Sun” by Joy Harjo (2015)

In this poem, Harjo delineates some of her beliefs about human beings’ relationships with the sun. It reiterates the beliefs the speaker expresses in “Remember” and depicts how Harjo puts those beliefs into practice by presenting her granddaughter to the sun. She also states how important it is to honor the earth, noting that climate change is melting ice in Alaska. She writes that scientists are now starting to “Think like Native Americans.” It was originally aired as part of NPR’s This I Believe audio series and then printed in the book This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women (Holt Paperbacks, 2007).

“Talking Tree” by Joy Harjo (2015)

As in “Remember,” Harjo expresses her connection to nature, but here she focuses on a single element: a tree. She explores how trees are alike and unalike people, ultimately leading the reader into the mystery of contemplating nature. She admits she can only imagine drinking what is “undrinkable.”

Further Literary Resources

“Joy Harjo-Sapulpa” on Super Soul Sunday video podcast (2019)

Oprah interviews Harjo shortly after Harjo’s appointment as Poet Laureate of the United States. Harjo summarizes some of her major life experiences and explains how they lead her to poetry. As she outlines in her memoir, Crazy Brave, Harjo explains that she was born with a spiritual “knowing” that helped her predict and sometimes avoid negative experiences. She recounts how a stepfather who was abusive, a traumatic family past, and personal struggles helped drive her to poetry. The interview ends with Harjo reading “Remember.”

“When the Beasts Spoke: The Ecopoetics of Joy Harjo” by João de Mancelos (2007)

In this essay from Journal of American Studies of Turkey, João de Mancelos explores Harjo’s work as it connects to environmentalism and ecology. Harjo champions the natural world and human connection to it. Romantics and American Transcendentalists introduced a European and American audience to this way of thinking, but Harjo’s work is unique because it incorporates a way of thinking that is based on Indigenous cultures, which treat the land with even greater levels of personification and, hence, respect.

“Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer Presents Braiding Sweetgrass” Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences (2022)

This is a recorded talk by the author Robin Kimmerer, the author of Braiding Sweetgrass (2013). Kimmerer, a member of the Potawatomi Tribe, discusses his Indigenous view of nature, and advocates for modern people to understand and adopt those views in order to protect and preserve the natural world and avoid further environmental degradation. She discusses the way the Potawatomi language personifies natural elements such as plants and trees. Her discussion explains the origin of many of Harjo’s beliefs expressed through her poems.

Listen to Poem

Joy Harjo Reads “Remember” During an Interview with Oprah

Harjo reads “Remember” in the last moments of this 2019 interview with Oprah. It comes after the poet has explained what led her to poetry on Super Soul Sunday. It is appropriate that it takes place in a garden, where Harjo is surrounded by the natural world. The reading is on oprah.com, with a timestamp of 39:58.