Andrew Kaufman is a poet and literature scholar based in New York. His poems have appeared in numerous journals. His poetry collections include Earth's Ends, winner of the Pearl Poetry Award, Both Sides of the Niger, and The Cinnamon Bay Sonnets, winner of the New York Center for Book Arts Award. A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in the U.S. made possible the travel reflected in much of his work. These poems are based on his encounters, observations, and experiences while wandering through Mali, Benin, and Togo, often while staying with local families in remote villages.