Winter Vole

Elizabeth McCarthy's chapbook, Winter Vole is a charming collection of poems that makes one long for a comforting trip to the countryside. It was no surprise to find out that she makes her home in beautiful Vermont. With lines like "The heart of the house, smelling of history and time," "It would be ours to live in...after we evicted the racoons," or "The old woodstove smiles and snaps/Embers glow in smoldering memories," her poems reflect a deep relationship with country and nature. Whether you're "Walking into Fall" or "Zooming with Thoreau," you will find joy in McCarthy's scenic journey. 

-Lylanne Musselman



What a master of metaphor, as she compares dust, clutter a dog's sense of smell and a poem. What a master of imagery with a woodstove, a bog, a turtle, wildflowers, egret, worms and deer. Not only are these poems masterful,; they are imaginative and skillfully crafted.

-George Longenecker



Delightful. These poems walk through New England's seasonal fauna and flora (squirrels, worms, dogs, birds, mice, lobsters...) and knock on the door of a farmhouse. They find their home there, where the leaves give up their green in the fall and frozen ivy makes its desolate climb through winter. Come spring, you will wonder how life would be if we could "raise children like wildflowers" and believe that, yes, a dog can be a Buddhist.

-Elizabeth Boquet