I have decided, sadly, to DNF this book.
I loved the idea, and I was into it at the begging, but as I kept going I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over, to the point of making me feel disconnected.
As a poem collection based around kindness, with the view of so many writers...that makes me feel that this book fails in the goal it has.

I liked, though how the book sometimes reflects on the meaning behind the poem and proposes to the reader their own creative experience.
I'm still open to trying similar titles because I like the overall idea behind this compilation.

This month I’ve been dipping in and out of, The Path to Kindness, a poetry anthology edited by James Crew.

What I Loved

I really enjoyed the prompts or “reflective pauses” that are peppered throughout the book, this one came after the poem, Chore by Angela Narciso Torres and encouraged you to consider the mundane chores we have to do like loading the dishwasher or hanging out the washing and how those quiet moments in our days are also sacred.

http://www.artsbooksplaces.com/czs_content/uploads/2022/05/Untitled-23-April-2022-11.17-715x1024.jpg

Which also made me think to a poem I’d read earlier in the year called White Towels by Richard Jones.

Small Kindness by Danusha Laméris, is the first poem in this anthology and is also the one I have seen endlessly reposted on social media this year, in the same way, Good Bones by Maggie Smith was the poem that spoke to 2020, Small Kindnesses speaks to now.

http://www.artsbooksplaces.com/czs_content/uploads/2022/05/small-kindness-964x1024.jpg

The prompt was to make an effort to notice the kindnesses you see or experience in a week. Here are a couple of mine!

Another poem in the anthology that I really loved was, Love Portions by Julia Alvarez, “love should be unbalanced, a circus clown carrying a tower of cups and saucers who slips on a banana peel and lands with every cup still full of hot coffee – well, almost every cup” Julia’s poem reminded me of the famous poem by Auden, The More Loving One.

If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me
WH Auden The More Loving One

Other poems were more poignant, like, In Praise of Dirty Socks by Lailah Dainin Shima, ‘long-ago weeks, when chemo pinned me like a butterfly, too nauseous to nag, she cleaned her things, like saying a spell, like making a wish”, which I found unexpectedly touching.

Another thing I really appreciated about this anthology was how diverse it was, there were so many poems by women and women of colour were also represented throughout. I was also impressed with how the poems included where for the most part by living poets.

3 stars. 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 of 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 to NetGalley for the eARC

This poetry book was really lovely.
The cover is obviously stunning and that's what grabbed my attention first off but also poetry is something I've only recently gotten into.
This one had lots of lovely poems that really resonated with me and then there was some that didn't at all.
I think that is the beauty of reading poetry though is that you arnt going to relate to every single one.
They were very beautifully written and This book was very easy to read.

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.

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.

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.

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

I really loved this collection of heartfelt poems. Most of them poems in here really effected me, I love these sort of anthologies so much!
However, with these anthologies it's always hard to completely fall in love as different authors have different writing styles and I can tell it is hard to make them all flow.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this free eArc, this is my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I first want to start out by saying I really enjoyed most of the poems in this collection. I feel like sometimes there is a disconnect when there are multiple authors in one book. Throughout the collection, towards the end, I began to realize some of the connections between the poems. It could just be more, but for poetry, I really like to feel the emotion that the poem trying to portray and I only felt this feeling throughout a few poems. I also will say that I wasn't a fan of the reflection, but I can see the point of them, and if I journaled I would definitely use the reflective pauses to journal and ponder the poems more thoroughly. I think with the right audience, this collection will do amazing. I did enjoy the way the poems were written out and the progress of the poems under a certain topic.

The Path to Kindness by James Crews is a beautiful anthology. Right now, love, connection, and kindness are needed more than ever before. These poems are highly relatable. Here, we are provided with ways to show kindness to others as well as ourselves; it is evident that each small act can have a bigger impact on someone’s life than we may ever realize. Additionally, this work encourages us to practice gratitude, and find happiness in the here and now. There are also opportunities to pause and reflect on what has been read. Overall, James Crews took great care in gathering these exceptional poems.

Through a variety of poems and authors, this book holds something for everyone. I look forward to picking up How to Love the World next!

I think it's a bit difficult to put individual thoughts on a book of poetry into words. But this was beautiful, I ended up going out and buying a copy.

I once gave away my copy of [book:Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times|188127] 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/poems/92120/thank-you-587653381d670

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

Having read the first book How To Love The World I was curious to read this one.
It is the same format divided into sections with thoughts on the section after and some ideas for your own writing.
This is a great book I will admit some of the poems worked better than others and some referenced American countryside etc. but even so the poems still worked.
There are poems in here for everyone and certainly a book I would recommend.

I don’t usually read poetry but I really liked this collection of poems.
The language is easy and the words are relatable.
I liked the cover so much!

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.

3.5 stars!
I received and 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.

I am all about spreading kindness, gratitude, and joy into our world, and was excited when I was approved to read an ARC of this anthology of poems about kindness. As a quote collector, I was sure I'd have plenty of new entries to fill several pages in my notebooks. What I didn't plan on was how flat this collection would seem to me.

All reading is subjective, and I can't really explain why this collection disappointed me so, only that it did. As I read through it, I kept waiting for a connection that never came. Other reviewers gave it anywhere from 1-star to 5-star ratings, so I know I'm not the only one to come away disappointed or wonder what the others saw that I didn't. I'm afraid you're going to have to boldly decide for yourself on this read. The results are completely mixed!

I do thank Storey Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book via NetGalley. The book was published on 4/12/22. All opinions expressed here are my own and are given freely,

I really enjoyed this collection of poems. I bookmarked so many to come back to in the future, and it's not often I mark up a poetry book in the way I did with this one. I liked how the poems subjects blended into one another, the arrangement felt very natural. Not every poem seemed to be inherently about kindness, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. Highly recommend!

THE PATH TO KINDNESS
BY: JAMES CREWS

I love poetry.
I love the simple Kindness bestowed by various people for no other reason than it is an act without thought.
This collection did not hit the mark for what I was expecting.
Most seemed more like essays and lack the simplicity that resonates.
My favorite one about cupping a spider gently and putting it outside and hoping that the act will be reciprocated to us if we are minding our own business in our homes.

The point of this anthology is to see the beauty of simple acts of kindness shown to us.
These poems lacked structure. I didn't like the formatting in how these essay like words which I hope will be different when published. I just noticed that this does include essays. Even so--they didn't move me in the way that I hoped. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Publication Date: April 12, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley, James Crews and Storey Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#ThePathtoKindness #JamesCrews #StoreyPublishing #NetGalley