Our words are a clearing, a place for fire, " writes Carol Bachofner, in perhaps her finest book of poems yet. Her words are always affecting, vivid, numinous. Here, too, they are the words of her Native relatives and ancestors. Clearing a space for Abenaki place names, food terms, and exhortations to gather together, Bachofner tends a poetic fire that joins her to such tribal luminaries as Joseph Bruchac, Cheryl Savageau, and Joseph Laurent.

Siobhan Senier, Associate Professor of English
Faculty Fellow, Sustainability Academy
University of New Hampshire


What a gift to read Carol Bachofner's poetry, full of words and phrases from her native Abenaki language that make us long for a kinder world, a world that shows us the possibilities of turning away from the face paints of war - red and black - and opt instead for yellow, the color of peace. Very good poems, indeed.

Alice M. Azure
Along Came a Spider, Games of Transformation