About

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Raised in the Adirondack foothills town of Greenfield Center by his maternal grandparents at Bowman's Store, Joe is the founder of the Greenfield Review which has published over 150 multicultural books and anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, giving voice to the otherwise voiceless and marginalized. Including, Words from the House of the Dead: An Anthology of Prison Writings from Soledad, Breaking Silence: Asian American Authors (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. Joe's poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from Akwesasne Notes and The American Poetry Review to National Geographic Magazine and Parabola.

"In addition to that eight years creating and coordinating the Skidmore College University Without Walls (UWW) program at Great Meadow  Correctional Facility from 1974-1981, I have also done many writing  workshops since 1971 in prisons from Maine to Alaska. Further, for two  decades, my late wife Carol and I sent donated poetry books and  magazines to men and women in prison all over the American continent."

Named the 2023-2025 Poet Laureate of Saratoga Springs, NY. An ambassador for poetry, the Poet Laureate is expected to promote citizens' awareness of poetry as well as heighten appreciation of the art. Joe is a prolific poet and author, who has had over 180 books published. In 1971 his first book of poetry entitled Indian Mountain and Other Poems was published. In 1996, he was awarded the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature, and is the winner of numerous other awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts writing fellowship and a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship. He later received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas. Joe was a varsity heavyweight wrestler at Cornell University. For more than five decades, he has also been a devoted student and instructor of the martial arts. He has been awarded the rank of black belt in Penjak Silat and Brazilian jiu-jistu.

"One of my major influences was Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian author. His book Things Fall Apart is a masterpiece of storytelling and an example of how one can draw on one’s own folk culture. Chinua was a close friend and an advisor for my PhD."

Joe earned his B.A. from Cornell University, his Master's from Syracuse, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute. A proud citizen of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation (Band #1101), Joe's Indigenous ancestry has inspired him to study deeply and write about important aspects of Indigenous traditions, peoples, and experiences in the Americas. 

"If you want to write, write every day.

And then, try to love the process of revision." 

Some of his notable works include Keepers of the Earth and Code Talker selected by TIME as among The 100 Best YA Books of All Time. At 81 winters old, Joe is still constantly reading, training, and learning. With every new book the journey of understanding and sharing begins anew. 

"Indigenous identity as a writer  is a combination of blood, heritage, and deep personal commitment, which  includes connection to your community and your elders.  “Give back at least as much as you are given,” as Stephen Laurent, an Abenaki elder who was a dear friend expressed it to me."