The Path Less Traveled
A Collection of Courageous Verse
Exploring Life and Literature
Dear Friends,
This year, I decided to do something a little different to celebrate National Poetry Month. I issued a call for poetry submissions, and the response was overwhelming. Twenty-seven individuals submitted their creative works for inclusion in this anthology. With the editorial assistance of my good friend
, this anthology is provided for you today.The Path Less Traveled: A Collection of Courageous Verse features work contributed by readers and writers seeking the intimate connections between life and the written word. Some poets are professionals who have been previously published, while many are amateur writers seeing their words in print for the first time. This collection celebrates the courage to put our hearts on paper and share them with the world.
Please download, print, and enjoy the creativity of these wonderful poets.
Poets and photographers whose work appears in this anthology
is a New Yorker living in Los Angeles. He is the author of the 2021 poetry collection Waiting for Word and a writer of memoirs, essays, fiction, and drama.
is a library worker, writer, and avid reader living in Washington. She writes about literature and libraries.
is a retired dressage rider, writer, and poet living in the Swiss countryside near Geneva.
is a wife, mom, and poet living in New Hampshire.
is the author of two books of poetry, Mining the Bright Birds (Wipf & Stock/Resource, 2023) and Hearts on Pilgrimage (Newport Press, 2021). Her work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and online.
is a photographer, collage artist, and closet poet. She lives on the Oregon coast when she isn't working in Antarctica.
is a postgraduate film student at Monash University and a budding writer with a keen interest in memory, form, and speculative fiction.
Victoria Mary Fach devotes her time to her children, two dozen grandchildren, and her writing, as well as Southern California's year-round gardening.
is a poetry student in the MFA program at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. She resides in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and their five children.
has been writing for a number of years, alternating between fiction and poetry. A sometime Indie Publisher, he also mentors at public writers’ retreats.
is a writer from Chicago whose poems can be found at poeticous.com/r-lincoln-harris.
is a writer and aid worker from Scotland who has lived and worked in 10 countries.
Audri Laurrier Das a graduate student at Mahidol University in Thailand.
is a poet, writer, and storyteller. She is the author of Conversations (I Never Had) With Luna and Other Stories.
is an artist and educator fostering creativity as a path to self-discovery and renewal. Her workshops and personal art practice are rooted in intuition and nature’s rhythms, embracing slowness and transformation while inviting exploration. She lives with her family in northern Maine.
John Lutz is a retired sheetmetal worker and nature photographer living in Northern Maine. He finds inspiration in the quiet wilderness, capturing the raw beauty of Maine’s landscapes and wildlife.
is an American Lit professor, former editor, and mom. She tends the inner fire joyfully at The Hallelujah Book & Hope Letter.
writes in Chattanooga, TN, while his wife, Amy, and their four children are asleep.
is a writer and photographer from Calcutta, New York, and currently lives in Paris. She has a collection of stories and another of poetry forthcoming this year.
Ruby Sharkie is a student at Royal Holloway University in the South of England, currently studying English Literature and Creative Writing.
Caroline Shaw is an environmentalist, communicator, and yoga and Pilates enthusiast living in Oxford. UK. www.cbarraclough.com
Mary Tabor lives in Los Angeles, CA., where she writes on the arts, books, movies, a course: Write it!, The Writing Life, (Re)Making Love: a memoir in serial chapters (fully up now), Who by Fire: a novel (unfolding).
lives and writes in the Bega Valley in Yuin Country, New South Wales, Australia.
Alicia "Joyful" Thompson is a writer, intuitive, and lifelong seeker, expanding her humanness from shadows to light, from fear to love, and from striving to thriving. Her book Courageous Compassion contains experiences, teachings, and tools that have shaped her life. She can be found online at
is a retired broadband industry executive. He is a poet and lyricist. He and his wife split their time between North Carolina and the Jersey Shore.
Evon Wheeler lives in London and has enjoyed being creative since childhood, whether that involves painting, drawing, or writing. You can follow him on Instagram @evondelaroche.
is a body language consultant, fight director, and intimacy coordinator. Author. Movement artist & burlesque badass. Ninja emeritus.
Beyond the Bookshelf is a reader-supported publication. If you are looking for ways to support Beyond the Bookshelf, please visit my support page and see how you can help continue the mission of exploring the connection between life and literature.
And I have a tip jar available for those who prefer. Thank you very much.
Until next time,
 | A guest post by
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Bravo for trying something different, Matthew! And to all the brave souls who submitted their work; poetry is the most terrifying thing to write (IMHO)!
Matthew! Thank you so much for this wonderful gift! I'm so pleased to have my poems included among so many talented poets, and never expected anything like this. I'm incredibly grateful, and I look forward to reading all the poetry, and to sharing it with people I love. Hugs from Switzerland! Francesca