James Crews presents the Path to Kindness

Tuesday, May 10, 7:00 PM
In-Store Event - Registration Required

James Crews presents The Path to Kindness, with special guests Margaret Hasse, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Joyce Sutphen, & Connie Wanek

James Crews, editor of the best-selling How to Love the World, presents an all-new anthology of poems that explore the theme of kindness, featuring more than 100 uplifting and accessible poems by a diverse group of well-known and emerging contemporary poets, including Julia Alvarez, Marie Howe, Ellen Bass, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ross Gay, Ada Limón, Danusha Lameris, Alberto Ríos, and more.

The book features several local contributors who will join Crews for this evening of poetry and community!

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.

James Crews is the editor of the best-selling anthology, How to Love the World, which has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, in the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post, and is the author of four prize-winning collections of poetry: The Book of What Stays, Telling My Father, Bluebird, and Every Waking Moment. His poems have been reprinted in the New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, The New Republic, and The Christian Century, and in former US poet laureate Ted Kooser's weekly newspaper column, "American Life in Poetry," and featured on Tracy K. Smith's podcast, The Slowdown. He worked with Ted Kooser on "American Life in Poetry," which reaches millions of readers across the world. Crews holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in writing and literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He teaches poetry at the University at Albany and lives with his husband in Shaftsbury, Vermont.

Michael Kleber-Diggs is the author of Worldly Things, which was awarded the 2020 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. He was born and raised in Kansas and now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. His work has appeared in Lit Hub, The Rumpus, Rain Taxi, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Water~Stone Review, Midway Review, and North Dakota Quarterly. Michael teaches poetry and creative nonfiction through the Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop.

Joyce Sutphen grew up on a small farm in Stearns County, Minnesota. Her first collection of poems, Straight Out of View, won the Barnard New Women Poets Prize; her recent books are The Green House (Salmon Poetry, 2017) and Carrying Water to the Field: New and Selected Poems (University of Nebraska Press, 2019). She is the Minnesota poet laureate and professor emerita of literature and creative writing at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Connie Wanek was born in Wisconsin, was raised in New Mexico, and lived for over a quarter century in Duluth, Minnesota. She is the author of Bonfire (New Rivers Press), winner of the New Voices Award; Hartley Field (Holy Cow! Press); and On Speaking Terms (Copper Canyon Press). In 2016, the University of Nebraska Press published Wanek’s Rival Gardens: New and Selected Poems as part of their Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry series.

Margaret Hasse lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she has been active as a teaching poet, among other work in the community. Six of Margaret’s full-length poetry collections are in print. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Margaret collaborated with artist Sharon DeMark on Shelter, a collection of poems and paintings about refuge. A chapbook, The Call of Glacier Park (2022), is her latest publication.

To learn more, visit her website: MargaretHasse.com.

A note about in person events:

We are very excited to bring authors and readers back together in our space, and we know you are too!

As we all navigate the transition back to congregating in person, we ask that you use honesty, care, and understanding in interacting with fellow event-goers, staff, and authors.

Please note that Magers & Quinn will always comply with current city and state regulations, and reserves the right to change the below policies at any time. These are guidelines only, and if you have questions about the most up to date information, you can always call us at 612-822-4611.

For information about how our in-person events will work over the coming months, please read on:

Q: Are masks required?

A: Please wear a mask while in the event area and in the signing line.

For the health and safety of others, we strongly encourage you to wear a mask or face covering.

Q: Are in store events free?

A: Yes, Magers & Quinn events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Q: Do I need to RSVP?

A: Yes, please. Each event will now include a registration link.

As we navigate this step back to in-person events, we will be limiting event capacity to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for all attendees and authors. By requiring pre-registration, we can easily communicate event updates and policies with those who plan to attend, and can contact attendees after the event with follow-up information.

We strongly suggest registering via the Eventbrite link provided on our website, but if you are unable to sign up online, please call or visit the bookstore and register with a bookseller.

We may or may not be able to accommodate unregistered walk-ins, and seating priority will always be given to registered customers. We appreciate your understanding of this new process!