The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy

by James Crews (editor), Danusha Laméris (Foreword)

Following the success and momentum of his anthology How to Love the World (93,000 copies in print), James Crews's new collection,  The Path to Kindness,  offers more than 100 deeply felt and relatable poems from a diverse range of voices including well-known writers Julia Alvarez, Marie Howe, Ellen Bass, Naomi Shihab Nye, Alberto Ríos, Ross Gay, and Ada Limón, as well as new and emerging voices. Featured Black poets include January Gill O’Neil, Tracy K. Smith, and Cornelius Eady. Native American poets include Kimberly Blaeser, Joy Harjo (current U.S. Poet Laureate), and Linda Hogan. The collection also features international voices, including Canadian poets Lorna Crozier and Susan Musgrave. Presented in the same perfect-in-the-hand format as How to Love the World, the collection includes prompts for journaling and exploration of selected poems, a book group guide, bios of all the contributing poets, and stunning cover art by award-winning artist Dinara Mirtalipova. A foreword by Danusha Laméris, along with her popular poem "Small Kindnesses," is also included.

This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

 

Genres: Poetry, Adult, Nonfiction, Anthologies, Spirituality

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2022

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy – James Crews – (2022)

The first noticeable thing about this great poetry collection is the beautifully designed cover! Amid the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, the intensity of social, political, and racial unrest in the U.S., a haven of love, humility, hope and peace can be found within these pages. James Crews is a muti-award winning author/poet and editor his work has been featured in several notable publications including the NYT, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and NPR.

This large comprehensive anthology features over one hundred poems with various themes contributed by poets from all walks of life— both famous and lesser-known, with mini-bio’s included. Along with stories and poems about Crews own life, he has added “Reflective Pauses” with complete editorial and poetic insight, meditative self-care with stillness and letting go of nervous energy, compassion and empathy, effective listening, and more. In addition, readers might gain a perspective of what Crews writing workshops (with co-founder Danusha Lameris) might be like.

It was a given that many poems included the common elements of nature: the warmth of the sun or the light of the moon, wind/ breeze, plants, trees, and animals. -- “The weight of grief, held in the palm of a hand, determined to love again.” (The Thing Is: Ellen Bass). – (Thank You: Ross Gay) – (The Heartbeat of My Unborn Child: Heather Lanier) -- “The childhood swimming pool installed by his father symbolized his love for his children and also rebirth.” (The Pool: James Crews).
A favorite and powerful poem in this collection was: (Coniferous Fathers: Michael Kieber-Diggs). In the poem Kieber-Diggs reflects a new “folklore” narrative of Fatherhood, where there is no Johnny Appleseed or Atticus Finch, or La-Z-Boy Dad’s reading newspapers; no football, basketball, or other sports. Instead, father’s find the strength to love their children with an unconditional love that their own fathers could not provide for them.

This book is the second volume in a series released after “How to Love The World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope” (2021). In addition, Crews received the Cowles Poetry Prize for “Telling My Father” (2017). He lives with his husband in rural Vermont. **With thanks to Storey Publishing via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I once gave away my copy of Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times before I knew it was out of print, and I think I've been on the hunt for similar anthologies, poems that are thoughtful but ultimately uplifting, that can be picked up and read during harder times. This anthology does this but from a different angle, focusing on connection and small details of life. It's particularly useful if you have ever tried reading poetry as part of a practice (of meditation, or prayer, or whatever your flavor might be) or are interested in trying - the editor has pulled the poems together in logical and pleasing groups by theme but also the way they are organized with small connections between poems is going to delight people who read more than one at a time. He pauses from time to time and poses a question for meditation, reflection, journaling, again, whatever your particular flavor leads you to. There are several pages of discussion questions in the back for people who might discuss the poems in a group setting as well.

Many of these poems and poets are known to me but many were not. The favorites I marked come from poets I already know, but some of what appeals in this anthology is that sense of familiarity and comfort, so I'm not surprised.

"For Keeps" by Joy Harjo
https://poets.org/poem/keeps

"Thank You" by Ross Gay
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...

"I Would Like" by Jane Hirshfield
https://gwarlingo.com/2021/i-would-li...

[mila · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Path to Kindness is a sweet and emotional poetry collection, which I both expected to enjoy but didn't expect it would make me this emotional.

Rating collections/anthologies is always really hard because it is inevitable that you will connect more with either one person's writing over someone else's, or with one topic more than the other. And that is exactly what happened here. But I will say that while I obviously expected to like it when I requested it on Netgalley, I ended up an emotional mess over some poems in the book.

From the very start, this book had a grip on me. I didn't expect the first part would be that emotional for me - but just reading the editor of the anthology, James Crews, talk about his husband, and their community, and the kindness of people overall - that shines through poetry especially, had me in shambles. Maybe we do all just need some kindness in our lives, and this book is a lovely reminder of that.

You're maybe wondering, then why only 3 stars? Well, first, I give 3 stars to books I enjoyed - it is not a bad rating here, and second, as I mentioned already, some poems spoke more and resonated more with me than others (which again, I don't think is bad). I really do think this is a lovely collection of poems that vary in style and themes they cover, and I think there is something for everyone who enjoys poetry. But also the varying topics and themes are the reason why you might not enjoy every single one of the poems. I have noticed my attention drifting with some of the poems that just weren't for me.
My favorite poems from the collection were Billowing Overhead, Coniferous Fathers, Mimesis, Ladder.

The book also included Reflective Pause sections after every few poems, which kind of went over the topic in the poems, and gave the reader a perspective to consider and also prompts for writing and reflection. This aspect of the book wasn't really for me, as I process things differently - but an interesting addition nonetheless!

All in all, it was a sweet collection that got me very emotional at times, and if you're looking for something like this I would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Kays Secret Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate giving poetry lower than 3 stars because it usually isn’t supposed to appeal to a wide audience, but a specific one. I’m giving this three stars, but anyone reading this should know that it’s a 2.5 rounded up. I think it’s important to remember that poetry is a lot easier to criticize than novels, especially since one person can like something a lot more than another. On top of that, reviewing poetry anthologies can be complicated sometimes, because it is hard to judge an entire book by the content of so many different authors.

The cover is appealing and there are a few select poems that stand out from the rest, but overall a majority of these poems and essays fell flat for me. Plus, I’m not a big fan of the “reflective pause” sections and found them unnecessary.

Note: Thank you to Netgalley & publishers for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review! Please note that all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

[Flybyreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second James Crews collected poem book and as I was impressed with “How to Love the World”, I wanted to read the advance copy. I have mixed feelings about this, although I found most of the selected poems heart-warming, there was something missing. I enjoyed the overall content but I could not really connect to most of the poems on the emotional level and only a few of them created the joy and hope I expected from this. Maybe it was not the right time for me to read this.

[Nima Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing and touching collection of poetry that touches your soul and spirit. What a great opportunity to experience a myriad of poems from so many different writers. Truly enjoyed this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Storey Publishing LLC for a digital copy in return for an honest review.
#ThePathtoKindness #NetGalley

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many of the works included in this collection were more like an assortment of reassembled or reformatted prose.
There were some genuinely beautiful pieces but not enough to redeem it in my eyes.

My thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw the first poem was “Small Kindness” by Danusha Laméris and knew it was game over

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

In James Crews' poetry anthology based on connection and kindness, he has assembled a wide variety of poems that describe daily life and connection in small and large ways. The poems are as varied in topic as they are in style and the biographies of each of the poets as an index help the reader to discover even more of these many poets' works.

I really enjoyed reading these poems and taking time to think about them. This would make an excellent addition to anyone seeking to think about life and connection. This is a worthwhile anthology and makes for a good springboard into finding poets one has not read before, as well as revisiting some more well-known poets as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for this free eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Path of kindness is a lovely poetry book. There was some poems I enjoyed more than others. They where all good but these where my favourite: Kindness, turning, for keeps , my daughter meets white pine and there where few others. This is a poetry book you can keep coming back to.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!
I received an ARC of this book and I’m glad to say that
this poetry book felt like home, there were so many exquisite and delicate morals behind each metaphor. I loved how James Crews included a Reflective Pause after each few poems, and helped readers analyse the secret and special meanings behind it.

[wormy ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

/2.5

I really liked the premise, the cover, and some of the poems, but overall the whole collection just fell flat for me.
I didn't connect with many of the poems and the subjects they were on were all over the place and very very fluffy.

[Edgar Trevizo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The previous book, How to Love the World, was way better. Not perfect, but way better in comparison. The poems in this one, except for maybe a couple, are so poor, so uncomfortably corny, so WASP. A bunch of white people writing from their heated houses during quarantine, being grateful for what they have and paying no mind to anything else around... it's a very bad book.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking, every one.

[grace sethi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t read a lot of poetry, so it could just be that I don’t have a proper appreciation for it, but I was a little bored by this collection of poems. There were definitely some I enjoyed, but overall, it wasn’t my favorite. I was kind of confused as to what the pattern to topics was supposed to be, and some of the poems I was left just scratching my head because of all the obscure metaphors.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC for a honest review

[Lanette Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my very favorite poetry anthologies of all time. I took notes and wrote down lines from nearly every poem. James Crews has done a gorgeous, moving job of compiling some of the tenderest contemporary poetry out there, each gem a drop of humanity speaking directly to our souls. I could not love this collection more and wish i could give it more than five stars.

I am beyond grateful to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review. Being exposed to books such as this one that I might not otherwise discover make it worth it that I have to slog through other books that I wish I hadn't discovered. This one is a true treat. Even if you don't love poetry, you will love this book. I plan to give it as a gift to people all year.

[Chloe Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this collection, in the aspect that each poem is writing by a different author with their own aspect to give around the generalised topics. However, I was quite frankly bored with the majority of these poems. The themes were all unique, which can be great if it's well done, but I just felt confused and baffled because they were all so different, which made me feel disconnected from the collection.

Rated: 2 stars

Thank you to netgallery for allowing me to read this collection, in exchange for an honest review

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has poems from many different poets on all types of subjects that all lead back to kindness, love, and joy. Each poem has a little snippet of beauty, something we can recognize around us in life and say "this is a good thing."

I like how simple many of the poems are. They cut right to the heart of something that we usually overlook: a child swimming, a family getting waffles at a hotel, a tulip, a heartbeat, the smell of clean laundry.

But just because the poems point us to the beauty in life doesn't mean that they shy away from the sad or ugly things. There are several poems that talk about someone with cancer, or grieving the loss of a loved one. Even in the distressing and sad things, there can be a type of beauty if we look closely for that silver lining.

Like most things, there were a few poems that really spoke to me, and others that I did not like. In general, I prefer poetry that rhymes and has meter, which these do not. I'm not usually a fan of modern poetry, but some of these poems are beautifully crafted.

I love the pretty design of this edition, and the gorgeous deckled edges of the pages! There is something so luxurious about deckled edges. It's the little details that made this book so special, like the one-paragraph bios of each poet and the reading group questions at the back of the book. Some of the poems have a famous quote with them that inspired or somehow matches the poem. There are also pages with a "Reflective Pause" that gives a short explanation of one of the poems, and invites the reader to explore the deeper meaning with some prompts and questions.

This book makes such a lovely gift, and would be a great way to start reading more modern poetry! You could even use this book as a sort of meditation, since it is so full of joy and light!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this anthology of poems collected by editor and poet James Crews. I believe that sometimes a book comes to you when you need it most. I needed and will continue to need this collection of poems on kindness, grief, gratitude, hope and appreciation of the little moments that make up a life. Folding laundry, staring at the clouds, following the path of leaves as they swirl down a river, watching the lights come on in a neighbor's house in the morning - these are some of the reasons to get up and face the day.

I have read two pages of poetry every morning from mid-January to mid-March, and each poem has brought me joy and hope. I loved that some poems were accompanied by a reflective pause, with a deeper explanation of the poem and a writing prompt to allow the reader to continue thinking about the theme of a particular poem.

The poems I flagged as highlights include:
Sustenance by Barbara Crooker
Billowing Overhead by Jacqueline Jules
Coniferous Fathers by Michael Kleber-Diggs
The Raincoat by Ada Limon
When You Meet Someone Deep in Grief by Patricia McKernon Runckle

Every poem is worth reading multiple times, maybe with a group or alone with a cup of coffee and a lemon-glazed scone. I plan to keep this book on my nightstand. I will re-read two pages a day until the pages fall out and I have to get a new copy of the book.

[Katra · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only theses brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, "Here,
have my seat," "Go ahead - you first," "I like your hat."

-So ends the first poem in this new collection gathered by James Crews. Danusha Lameris's "Small Kindnesses" sets the tone for a sensitive, thought provoking, and timely reading that should be savored and reread. The predecessor to this volume "How to Love the World" sits on my desk with highlighting and scribbled notes. This volume is destined to achieve the same well-worn and well-loved state.

[Mags (mbooksbycandlelight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually read poetry but I really liked this collection of poems. They were all different, not only in style, but also in themes and that made my experience while reading it richer. There were a few I loved and had to re-read a few times. This is great if you’re into mindfulness. Also, the cover is lovely, if the book had a few illustrations, it would have been even better.

I received an eArc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet book of poetry. Lots of gems in here. I have my sis-in-law to thank for getting me into poetry and for gifting me this lovely book. The subtitle for this book is poems of connection and joy and they are- beautifully-crafted words that helped me see a greater perspective and help me feel more connected to the world and the people in it.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always appreciate a collection of poetry. This work provides opportunities for readers to reflect and write. I love that aspect of this book. The world need more kindness and understanding! Looking forward to reading this collection again and again.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organized well with good flow between poems, but the poems themselves didn’t hit deep for me

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful work!! Thank you Book Cougars for the recommendation.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection had a few stand-outs that I especially enjoyed.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love James’ cultivated collections. I savor them like wine.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Storey Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

The highlight for this collection is that there are poems by different writers which I really enjoyed reading. I enjoy the variety and the different forms of expression in each.

This is a collection which you will enjoy reading taking your own sweet time and try to focus on each poem what it's trying to say. The language is easy and the words relatable.

I love the cover so much!

[Lori Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been trying to expand my reading into different genres, and haven't read a lot of poetry. This beautiful cover caught my eye at the library so I checked it out and gave it a try. I enjoyed it, and really connected with several of the poems. A beautiful collection.

[lisa (fc hollywood's version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Regards to NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. This opinion is mine

Sincere messages and beautiful ideas are nothing without a good execution

Look, I really wanted to at least like this book, but it was not it. I assure you, the ideas and messages are beautiful, the writing is gorgeous, but the execution makes me speechless, and not in a good way. I feel like the main problem that I have with most of the poems, that they're not actually poems, but sentence fragments juxtaposed with each other to make "poems." To be honest, it would be good if these authors had decided to write a self-help/motivational book (like The Comfort Book) instead. Their writing works much better in prose.