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Honoring the dead by washing the body is a ritual nearly as old as humankind. Jews observe taharah, 

 in Ecclesiastes: “As we come forth, so we shall return.” In Islamic tradition, washing the deceased as an act of devotion and love.

, former poet laureate and citizen of the Muscogee Nation, expected to honor her mother’s death and life by washing her body, but as she reveals in the introduction to her new book, the ritual didn’t happen — leaving her to wander through grief without a touchstone.  

,” and she joins host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about how this poem was able to bend time for her — and could be used as a model for others walking through grief without the guideposts of ritual. They also discuss the artwork created for the poem by fellow Muscogee citizen 

, which adds beauty and vibrancy to a poem about saying good-bye. 

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In her book, “Washing my Mother’s Body,” Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to return to what she deems an essential ritual of love and dignity to honor her mother’s passing. 

Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her mother's death

An author portrait and book cover for "Washing My Mother's Body"

Joy Harjo bends time with her poetry to honor her mother's death

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