Poems from the Bottom of the Rock are poems written over a span of nineteen months by J.R. Kinney. The book is divided into twelve chapters based on forms encompassing various subject matter and themes. In "A Prayer from the Fallen," the narrator seeks God's help to show him the way after straying from the righteous path. "Why the Tortoise Wins" is a delightful rendition of the age-old children's tale with a unique twist in verse. "Freedom from Religion" is a critique of the way leaders of organized religions quite often tend to act against the very nature of God. "Privilege" is a poignant sonnet that contemplates how, unlike wild animals, humans can make choices that define our lives. "The Name Song" encourages you to associate your name with good deeds.

Incorporating a wide range of styles, forms, and influences, author J.R. Kinney pens a beautiful collection of poems that get through to your soul. This collection contains introspective poems that leave a lot to ponder about long after you've finished reading the book. J.R. Kinney seems well-versed in various styles ranging from romantic era poems to sometimes abstract and even postmodern. Due to the author's religious background, a lot of poems include Biblical references. However, this is a book that can be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. I had a wonderful time wandering through its pages. If you consider yourself a poetry lover, I highly recommend Poems from the Bottom of the Rock.

In JR Kinney’s introduction to his work, Poems from the Bottom of the Rock, he states that being a poet gives the heart and mind an outlet to express themselves in ways that ordinary language cannot adequately express. With that in mind, his anthology hopes to allow his consciousness to reach out to other people and collectively seek refuge and comfort in the power of verse. A product of nineteen months of writing, this anthology is a mixed bag of different styles, forms, genres, and themes, and it even includes some that do not exactly represent the author’s best work. This is in order to give you that raw, unadulterated emotion, a piece of the author where he hopes that you can also find a piece of yourself.

Each of us has unique quirks or traits and our own creative way of sharing a piece of ourselves. Poems from the Bottom of the Rock is JR Kinney’s means of sharing episodes of himself with others, most of whom he will never meet, and it is a vital aspect of his work that is worth paying attention to. He wants you to understand yourself better by connecting your existential concerns to his. As a poet, he claims to have numerous influences, but they all reflect an adherence to structure. Noticeable in his poems is their romantic tone that is consistent in maintaining a steady course of his sentiments even he writes a verse about giving a cat a bath or an ode to a spider. Self-expression for Kinney is an intuitive definition—using his skills with the written word to reveal an authentic inner self. And because of that, read what Kinney has to offer because yes, you will find a piece of yourself in this work.