Book Review: “Leaning Toward Light”

If you’re looking for company and inspiration throughout the gardening season — from planting to wintering and in between — you might enjoy the lovely anthology “Leaning Toward Light: Poems for gardens & the hands that tend them.” This book of poems takes us through cyclical gardening seasons. Each of these seasons, from “Weeding & Wilding” to “Harvest & Feeding,” kicks off with a beautiful illustration, a short essay, and a recipe to try featuring some produce you may be growing in your garden (or picking up from your local farm). Between these, the book is filled with poems from across time and space with offerings from authors like John Keats, poet laureate Ada Limón, and Jane Hirshfield. I found some familiar names and pieces between the pages and some new-to-me authors as well.

I soaked up this book while reading by the fire over the winter, but I think it would be perfect for dipping into as your garden grows — maybe starting with Wendell Berry as you plant (“Wanting the seed to grow, / my mind is one with the light.”) and turning to Leah Naomi Green when you harvest your carrots (“We’ll gather / to your orange flame.”). The way the book is organized means you can find a poem to suit the season, activity, or mood.

What I love most about the collection is that the poems remind us — as poems so often do — of the greater connection and meaning behind the individual tasks we are carrying out. The authors reflect on their connection to the Earth and the food for their tables. They make meaning of events both deeply personal and global. I kept coming back to “Green Tomatoes in Fire Season” by Tess Taylor, who writes, “There is smoke in the air / when I go pick them. / I go despite panic, also because / inside I’ll make chutney… Jar them for friends & the winter.”

– Anna Libby

This review was originally published in the summer 2025 issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener. Browse the archives for free content on organic agriculture and sustainable living practices.