In most everything he does, Joseph Bruchac loves connecting the past with the present.

The 80-year-old lifelong Saratoga Springs resident is the first poet laureate for Saratoga Springs. In his role, he will compose poems for the city's special events for the next two years.

"I've considered Saratoga a sacred place in many ways," said Bruchac. "It was a place of healing to my advantage. Ancestors because of the springs."

His work as an educator took him to West Africa for three years, and he spent nearly a decade directing a college program inside a maximum security prison.

With his late wife, Carol, he founded the Greenfield Review Literary Center and the Greenfield Review Press.

With more than 170 published books under his belt, poetry often comes back to his roots.

"I always tell people that everything could be an inspiration," said Bruchac. "Your ancestry is an inspiration. I certainly have that here. Your family is inspirational. I certainly have that here extended in many directions. The place where you live, even the names of places."

Drawing from his personal experience and his Abenaki ancestry, Bruchac plans to share his optimism through the poetry he writes for the city. He says he prides himself on being positive, but honest.

"We need fewer lies, more truth, and more looking at the world through a lens that is kind, maybe critical, but kind at the same time," said Bruchac.

He says he hopes to hold workshops to get young people involved in poetry, too.

Now making history of his own, Bruchac says he is looking forward to being a part of Saratoga's legacy.

"It may be that seven generations from now or something I've written or something that came out of the poet laureate position will be meaningful to people in the future and I truly believe in the future," said Bruchac. "I think that we are not doomed to destruction. I think that we can find ways through. And I think understanding ourselves and the world around us, that acting accordingly is a big part of that."