Featured Podcast: Joy Harjo on Poetry, Kindness & the Common Good

“Poetry is an offering—it creates the space we need to listen to one another again.”

This week, as we honor World Kindness Day and the International Day for Tolerance, we’re spotlighting a podcast that beautifully embodies both:

In this conversation, Joy Harjo—poet, musician, and the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate—explores how poetry can be a tool for healing, cultural bridge-building, and radical empathy.

She reflects on the role of poetry in Indigenous communities, the responsibility of storytelling, and how the act of writing can call us back to kindness:

“Poetry helps us walk back into our humanity.”

Harjo reminds us that communication isn’t just about clarity—it’s about care. Her work shows us how poetry holds space for complexity, nuance, and connection across differences. It invites us to sit with each other’s pain and joy—and to find meaning in the shared silence between words.

+wellvyl’s Take

This episode sits at the intersection of several +wellvyl pillars:

• Culture & Commentary – examining how art and language shape social understanding
• Voices & Perspectives – featuring marginalized voices and wisdom traditions
• Tools for Real Life – offering poetry as a practice for emotional processing and connection

In a world where hot takes often shout over deep truths, Joy Harjo offers something quieter—but far more profound: a call to slow down, listen deeply, and create a more compassionate world through story.

Add this one to your playlist. Then send a poem to someone you love.

---

---