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Breathing Room: Poems of Rest and Retreat
Award-winning author and poet James Crews’s newest poetry collection gives readers permission to find the pause in every moment and cultivate healing from a sense of everyday awe for nature, each other, and our fractured world.
With the world returning to its old, unsustainable pace (and expecting us to return with it), we all must learn how to make time to slow down, to pause, and to appreciate the beauty around us. In this inspiring collection of poems, award-winning poet and mindfulness educator James Crews models how the smallest moments of deep attention can also be the most joyful and healing. Each poem offers gentle wisdom and comfort, providing life-changing insights that will resonate long after the last page.
There should be a room in every house
or office building set aside strictly
for breathing. No speaking allowed,
no phones, clocks, or other devices
may be brought inside. Let the walls
be empty and white, only potted ferns
stirring near windows thrown open
to a night-breeze bearing the scents
of jasmine and lilac. You can count
if you like until your heartbeat slows
to its own natural pace, and your mind's
as blank as a page in the back of a book.
If someone asks for directions, say
it’s the room at the end of the hall
with nothing else in it but a few plants
and all the air you can breathe.
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR: James Crews is an award-winning poet and writer. His work has been awarded the Prairie Schooner Prize and Cowles Prize. He has also been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Ploughshares, and The Sun Magazine.
UNIVERSAL Crews’s poems are accessible and relatable, exploring the universal experiences of rest, reflection, and renewal.
ENCOURAGES Breathing Room emphasizes the importance of slowing down and cultivating peace amid life’s chaos.
THOUGHTFUL GIFT: A gorgeous illustrated hardcover case, satin ribbon marker, and spot illustrations throughout make this a giftable collector’s item that will be treasured for decades.
With the world returning to its old, unsustainable pace (and expecting us to return with it), we all must learn how to make time to slow down, to pause, and to appreciate the beauty around us. In this inspiring collection of poems, award-winning poet and mindfulness educator James Crews models how the smallest moments of deep attention can also be the most joyful and healing. Each poem offers gentle wisdom and comfort, providing life-changing insights that will resonate long after the last page.
There should be a room in every house
or office building set aside strictly
for breathing. No speaking allowed,
no phones, clocks, or other devices
may be brought inside. Let the walls
be empty and white, only potted ferns
stirring near windows thrown open
to a night-breeze bearing the scents
of jasmine and lilac. You can count
if you like until your heartbeat slows
to its own natural pace, and your mind's
as blank as a page in the back of a book.
If someone asks for directions, say
it’s the room at the end of the hall
with nothing else in it but a few plants
and all the air you can breathe.
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR: James Crews is an award-winning poet and writer. His work has been awarded the Prairie Schooner Prize and Cowles Prize. He has also been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Ploughshares, and The Sun Magazine.
UNIVERSAL Crews’s poems are accessible and relatable, exploring the universal experiences of rest, reflection, and renewal.
ENCOURAGES Breathing Room emphasizes the importance of slowing down and cultivating peace amid life’s chaos.
THOUGHTFUL GIFT: A gorgeous illustrated hardcover case, satin ribbon marker, and spot illustrations throughout make this a giftable collector’s item that will be treasured for decades.
- GenresPoetry
168 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 10, 2026
Thanks to my meditation group and yoga teacher Amy Jo for introducing me to this beautiful collection of poems by James Crews.
April 6, 2026
Reading this book of "poems of rest and retreat" is like walking into a room made just for breathing. Every time I put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. This is a book I will keep on my coffee table to return to often and every time I want to have breathing room.
May 6, 2026
A beautiful book to help you slow down and put things into perspective. The design and artwork add so much to the beautiful poetry!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews