To be honest, this collection of poetry wasn’t for me. I’m sure the poems chosen are very good but they’re just not my style. Too modern! I’m old-school when it comes to poetry - the only ones I enjoyed in this book were the one by A. E. Housman, the two by Keats, and the one by Wendell Berry (I love everything by Wendell Berry although this isn’t one of my favourites). I also appreciated the inclusion of ‘To Everything There Is A Season’ from the Bible - I’m not religious but I do love that piece of writing (although I wouldn’t class it as poetry!) For me, the best bits of this book were the poems I mentioned above, the artwork, some of the pieces of writing and quotes at the beginning of the chapters, and the recipes.

Leaning toward Light is an absolutely beautiful collection of poetry about gardens and plant life from a wide range of mainly contemporary poets.

With all the negativity and tragedy that’s going on in our world, this book reminds me of the goodness and purity there is in the natural world, and how we can be a part of that. By slowing down and paying attention, we can find peace and connection. A garden teaches us to take care of others as well as ourselves.

The book is set up in the cycle of a garden through the year, from planting and sprouting, to growing and tending, being and waiting, grieving and release, the harvest, all leading to winter. The artwork by Melissa Castrillon is gorgeous.

There are several recipes throughout the book, going along with a season and personal story.

The imagery in the writing is outstanding. I love how gardening teaches us to “live always in the possible” (Jason Myers, “Closing In”). It’s a state in which we should all wish to live.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Storey Publishing, and Tess Taylor for the opportunity to read and review this work.

Honestly, I read this mainly for all things gardening, but also found the poetry enjoyable! I liked that the anthology included poems, stories, and recipes. I'm excited to maybe try out some of them! I also found the drawings to be super cute! Definitely a read if you enjoy poems, cooking, and/or gardening!

I really loved this anthology. Every page felt like a gift, like warm sunshine or big fat beads of spring rain.

There is a lot to savor here-- a diversity of voices, perspectives, flavors, smells, emotions. This is a really rich book, and the vibrant artwork throughout is so charming, really complementing the variety of poems, recipes, and prose.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some names I knew like Whitman and Keats included here, but I have to say I enjoyed reading the newer voices, especially those whose experiences are different from my own-- the black women and the immigrant mothers who nourish their families with the fruits of their garden toiling. I appreciated the focus on inclusion and the theme of regeneration. I think they're both particularly pertinent to our point in history.

"Gardeners, are, by their nature, people who believe in regeneration...They understand that the broken world we inherit can also be amended, with compost, worms, and steady tending. They have seen that the tended earth, in turn, offers up radical abundance--"

I also enjoyed the shared recipes, especially the feta, tomato, and basil pie recipe from my home state Mississippi. It was nice to see little glimpses of how these gardener poets use their harvests.

Overall, I think this is a very special little book and would make a fantastic gift for any gardening friends. And I'll definitely be checking out the other work of several of the authors included in this anthology-- I love that it tells you about each of them and their work at the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

A charming book full of gorgeous illustrations and beautiful poetry that inspires the reader through the ups and downs of life through the theme of all things plant love. I LOVED seeing Wendell Berry among the poets! Earth by Cleopatra Mathis resonated so so deeply. There are short essays accompanied by recipes gracing the beginnings of each section, which was such a delicious surprise (pun intended)! Everything about this book would make it a beautiful gift for gardeners, homesteaders, artists, environmentalists, or anyone who appreciates our connection with the botanical world around us.

Thank you, NetGalley!

This is an anthology of poems about gardening and gardens - it would be a lovely gift for a gardener! The drawings are also very sweet.

Gorgeous book, radiating beams of light and green tendrils of love of living things. There are recipes, memories and poems. I love the fresh tomato pie recipe and the interview with the pear tree. It's a lovely, meditative book. Every time I turn the pages, I think of more friends and family who would be equally enchanted by the collection of like minds and sentiments. Lovely book.

And - thoughtful - the end of the book includes a paragraph biography for each creator featured. So sweet.

LEANING TOWARD LIGHT was such a pleasant read! I enjoyed the mixture of poetry, gardening advice, and recipes. To be honest, I chose this title more for the gardening than for the poetry, but I found the poetry delightful. It was a New Year's resolution to begin to read more poetry, and I'm very happy to have started with this title. It makes me want to continue discovering more poems.

I highly recommend this title whether for a personal shelf or for a gift.

Loved this little book, so heart warming and joyous. However I did find it a bit repetitive in places, but I guess that is just the theme of gardening shining through the words.

This anthology of poems is just what I needed during these long, dark winter months filled with beautiful poems, illustrations, and recipes. The promise of spring and the hope that gardens bring are both present in this collection. From the anthology, it is said, "Gardens are what hope looks like in public. And these poems are also emblems of that hope." I believe wholeheartedly after reading this and experiencing the hope that gardens and poetry can bring to the soul.

After reading this I learned that an anthology means, a gathering or collection of flowers.
This collection of flowers has a great sampling of some well-known poets and new-to-you names that provide a wide look into what poetry has meant and can mean for those all around us. My love of poetry started last year and I am so glad that I was able to be exposed to some new names and return to some familiar poets. This was a joy to read and beautiful to look at. The images are gorgeous, illustrator Mellissa Castrillon did a fantastic job bringing to life the feeling of each season and the joys gardening and nature can bring.

Final Thoughts: I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates nature and gardening and are interested in poetry but doesn’t know where to start. There is a wide variety of types and topics to find something anyone will love.

Though I read an early copy and therefore couldn’t hold the physical copy in my hands, I can tell this will be a good keepsake book, and it appeals to many audiences:

- folks who appreciate nature and gardening,
- those who are interested in poetry and don’t know where to start,
- and folks who love poetry and want a sampling of the some well-known and perhaps new-to-you names (at least, they were new to me).

It didn't really wow me the way I expected it to, but then, I'm not an avid reader of poetry, so take my review with a grain of salt. If you like any of the above interests I listed, then I think you'll like this book.

And major kudos to the designers: I'm so glad I at least got to read a designed PDF because the layout and illustrations really added to the experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a beautiful collection.... challenging and hopeful, exactly as a garden should be. This volume of poetry spoke to my homesteading heart, and was a perfect way to close out 2022. Sprinkled with pockets of imagery and recipes, I absolutely adored this book of poems.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

I generally like poetry but I had a hard time getting excited about most of the verses in this book. I believe that I should stick to flower gardening, which I love, and leave poetry alone.

This is such a sweet, endearing book!
Filled with beautiful poems, illustration, and even recipes, it shares the beauty and joy of gardening and caring for the Earth. I am not a gardener, in fact I don't even have a green thumb, but I do love nature and flowers, so this was a charming read.
The collection of poems is very well curated, including authors I had never heard of but will for sure be looking for next time I go to a bookshop and authors I knew but had never read the particular poem included. I recommend this book to anyone honestly, whether you like gardening or not, you will surely enjoy reading these poems and looking at the beautiful illustrations.
I'm also very excited to try the recipes included in this,

Thank you very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Leaning toward Light is a lovely garden-centric poetry collection that is perfect for green thumbs. Mainly comprised of poems by a range of contemporary authors, with a little Whitman, Keats, and co. sprinkled in for good measure, the anthology is thoughtfully and carefully organized into appropriate sections by theme.

On the whole, the selected poems are introspective without resorting to insipid navel-gazing, and uplifting without being cutesy or trite. Diverse authorship was a clear priority, and I was pleased to discover some new authors to add to my reading list. The illustrations are beautiful, and this book would make a wonderful gift for a horticulture enthusiast.

I did not particularly enjoy the inclusion of recipes at the beginning of each section, feeling that they were out of place and detracted from the flow of the book. This is just a personal preference, so others might find them appealing.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3/5

This was an interesting collection to say the least. I feel like this would be much more enjoyable to read physically rather than digitally. I was only expecting poetry in this but it had a few other things from recipes to stories. I was expecting new poetry and not a collection of other poets' works but that is my bad for reading the description wrong. Some of these poems I enjoyed and some I didn't but there were definitely a few lines I really loved.

Disclaimer: I read this early through Netgalley in exchange for a review but this is still my honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great collection!

This book features thoughtful poems and a recipe for every season. This book includes metaphors for gardening and growth as well as love and seasonality. It's a really great collection that talks about the importance of community and tending ourselves.

A good read!

From this book I learned that 'anthology' means 'a gathering or collection of flowers', and what a beautiful garden this book is!
Leaning Towards Light was an incredible journey into a world most poets overlook; the world of nurturing, planting, and tending our piece and place of nature. And we get to see into the lives of the people who nourish them, and are nourished in return. This was a stunning collection from such an incredible range of poets and writers, it seems that our patches of Earth are dearer than most know, and I hope this is only the first in a long line of collections.
While also the focus of this outstanding book, we are shown that gardens are an ever growing, ever changing medium in which difficult truths of life can be conveyed and understood. I was left speechless by many poignant truths, joyful memories, and grieving admissions, so seamlessly woven into the motions of pruning, staking, and feeding. Possibly the shortest poem in the book, an entry on three little sunflower seeds left me nearly in tears!

So whether you have a green thumb-- or in my case, spend more time trying to save plants than eat from them-- I recommend this to all who knows themselves to be lovers of gardens, life, nature, and poetry.
I cannot wait for it's publication, and will eagerly add to my collection, and share among other green-thumbed enthusiasts!

I loved how this book has these collections of poetry and other forms of writing about the joys of a garden. As well as some recipes and knowing more about planting a garden.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for a review.