Joy Harjo in TIME

TIME features an interview with poet laureate Joy Harjo, where she answers a few questions about her new book, An American Sunrise, among other things. "You found your voice as a poet in 1973, a time when a lot of Americans found theirs. How much was that a factor?" asks Olivia B. Waxman. From there: 

I didn’t set out to be a writer. I was shy, quiet, and I loved art because I didn’t have to speak with anyone. At one point, my spirit said, “You have to learn how to speak.” I think poetry came to me because there was a lot of change. In 1973, I was 23, a mother of two children, and I was in a very active Kiva club [that was raising awareness about Native American issues] during the native-rights movement. We were dispersed Americans, totally disregarded, and I felt our voices needed to be heard. I started writing poetry out of a sense of needing to speak not only for me but all Native American women.

What do people get wrong about Native Americans?

A lot of images [of Native Americans] are based on fairy tales or Wild West shows. We are human beings, not just people who have been created for people’s fantasy worlds. There’s not just one Native American. We’re diverse by community, by land, by language, by culture. In fact, we go by our tribal names, and there are 573 tribal nations.

Learn more via TIME.