In narrative poems that take us back to New Mexico during the nineteenth century, Renny Golden resurrects the spirits of native people and of those who came West. To read these poems is to hear the voices of Padre Martínez and Bishop Lamy, Geronimo and General Crook, Billy the Kid and Sister Blandina. "Blood Desert is history that breaks into song, and readers are drawn into a chorus of voices that have gone unheard--women, indigenous peoples and more. What marvelous poetry, what powerful stories! Readers will not be able to put this book down."--Demetria Martínez, author of Mother Tongue and Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana. "From the end of Spanish colonial rule in 1821, to the United States invasion of 1846, to the surrender of Geronimo, these poems provide a lyrical alternative history that enlightens the reader."--Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of Roots of Resistance: A History of Land Tenure in New Mexico.