Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

This is a collection of found poetry - poetry created from eliminating words in an existing work. In this case, it's an unfinished epistolary novel of Stephen King's called The Plant. I've always been interested in this style. It's amazing what can be reimagined from what already exists. The poetry is lush and evocative and I enjoyed the book a lot. 4 stars

This has a good premise but it feels a little .. all over the place? Maybe the poetry isn’t for me so in turn I hope it finds the right audience.

While I read this collection of poetry extremely fast, I enjoyed what I read a lot. I was confused by some of these poems but it did not take away from the collection as a whole. When I realized it was only 66 pages long I found myself wanting more. I did feel disconnected from the poems most of the time but, that is okay. I will definitely give this poet another chance at some point in the future!

Unfortunately this collection of poems just didn't quite work for me.

I was drawn in by the aspects of plant horror and found it interesting to be told at the end the poems were words used from Stephen King's 'The Plant'.

I found the poems didn't make me feel anything which was disappointing. Poetry is a type of literature that needs to pack a punch and unfortunately this just didn't.

This is a fascinating book. A number of years ago, Stephen King published an unfinished novel online and told fans--and detractors--"have at it." Writers were free to use the material in any way they wanted. Author Blythe took that manuscript and used found/erasure/remixed poetry--a technique of taking previously existing text and using it whole cloth in portions and/or erasing/blacking out/moving words and phrases--to concoct this volume of plant-centric poems. I began reading before I knew this, and was struck by the gritty, unvarnished language of the text, how desperate and awful and nasty its world was, and at the same time how compelling the text could be, even as a winced away from imagery that made my stomach flip around. Then I read that the text was drawn from King's, and it made me think about writing and how the writing world assigns credit. The words are originally King's, but it's Blythe who manipulates them in interesting and often very non-King-like ways. The phrases left untouched are by King, but Blythe finds ways of recasting them and changing meaning. It's a thought-provoking medium, and book. (If you're interested in the legalities, as I know some of you will be, here's some info: https://www.ilnipinsider.com/2021/04/entitled-to-copyright-erasure-a-fair-use-search-for-a-derived-yet-transformational-work/.)

thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc. this is one of my lower rated books. not all types of poetry and for everyone, and i don’t think this one was for me. i do like found poetry and dark poetry but something about the way this was brought together feels rushed, chaotic, and almost as if it has no true purpose. i liked maybe 3 of them, but for the most part i did find myself connecting or enjoying the collection of poems in this book.

Unfortunately not for me. Maybe I simply could not connect to the themes but I kept reading the poems without engaging with them.

I enjoyed this collection of dark botany poems. As with most poetry collections, some flowed and made more sense than others. You don't find out until the authours note that this is a collection of "found poetry" from Stephen King's 'The Plant'. I think this would be helpful for readers to know at the beginning of the collection. I also think it would have been interesting to see the poems with the black/white out pages. Loved the title and cover art!

I have fallen down the rabbit hole of found poetry. This was a great read. This is a poetically poisonous collection of wicked poetry! This collection was the perfect thing to get me ready for spooky season. I enjoyed every poem and this it was great to pick up daily and read a poem. The illustrations were beautiful as well!

I do enjoy horror poetry and how it manages to be graphic and quite unnerving. This collection was partially horror and fantasy. Many of the these had a unique structure and many were memorable. There were a few i wasnt keen on however for a collection of its kind it will appeal to readers of this kind of poetry.

This was a 2.5* read for me, although to some extent the fault is mine. I saw “horror” and “poetry” and got all excited, but failed to realize that this collection is composed entirely of found poems.

Intellectually, I think this is a compelling exercise, but the poems didn’t make me feel much. I feel like this is often the case for me when it comes to found poetry. Yes, I can analyze the meaning, which in this case forms a semi-coherent story in which the narrator is a palimpsest, just at the poems themselves are a form of palimpsest in a way. But just because I can think about these poems doesn’t make me feel much, if anything, about them. This is 100% to do with how I enjoy poetry, and what I want from the experience of reading a collection. Not for me, but I think fans of Stephen King in particular (who wrote the MS in which these poems were found) will enjoy the nesting-doll effect of works within works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.

[note: I shared this review on GoodReads and StoryGraph on the book’s, but cannot share links from the apps using iOS.]

Horror and poetry, a combo of two my favorite things to read, so I was looking forward to this. I always like to say with poetry, it's VERY individualized as to how a reader is going to interpret and understand any given poem. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn't. It's all about how the reader can connect with the words on the page, even more so than a novel simply because there's usually fewer words to make an impact.

I enjoyed somewhere between a third and a half of the poems in this collection from Andrea Blythe, and some I just couldn't find a connection to. At the end of the collection, the author shares the inspiration and intent of this collection, which stemmed from a found poetry event, The Poeming.

I was already familiar with found poetry, so learning this after reading the collection made some of the disjointed and the "this doesn't make sense" feelings I got in some pieces make a bit more sense. I think if the collection had been introduced with the author's notes about the creation of these poems, it could put the reader in a better frame of mind for attempting to understand some of the pieces.

1.5 stars rounded up*

Personally, this collection of poetry just was not for me. I found it to be very unorganised and lacking structure or meaning to the overall flow of the collection. The author did state at the end of the book that all the poems were actually comprised of random phrases from other pieces of work. That was an entirely new concept to me. I don't believe this approach worked well for this specific collection. I didn't understand a lot of the poems and the messages they were trying to convey. After reading the author's note, it becomes quite apparent that the author pieced sentences from other's work together.

Poetry can be a very personal piece of writing as well as extremely ambiguous, so maybe these just weren't to my taste. However, I did not enjoy this work as much as I had hoped to due to the lack of structure and the chaos evident throughout the pages.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

"𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔"

This is a short collection of 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 that delves into the darker side to human existence.

With themes of identity, the supernatural, death and the existential, Andrea Blythe presents readers with an interesting perspective on the world around us, our insignificance in it and the mullings of someone who observes and feels things on a deeper level.

Considering the restrictions surrounding this style of writing, Blythe has managed to construct poems with significant messages and unique qualities. I can sometimes struggle to connect with freeform styles of poetry, so I was a little dubious going in, but I found a lot of what was written resonated with me quite easily.

Some of my favourite poems are 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘈 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 and 𝘖𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 and there is a lot of stunning natural imagery featured throughout.

When you take into account the limitations of creating poems using other pieces of text, I feel that this highlights Blythe’s talent immensely and it really adds to the reading experience.

This is a beautiful collection of macabre poems and, although it is a quick read, it is definitely a book worth exploring.

Release date: 7th October 2024

Necessary Poisons by Andrea Blythe is an intriguing collection that delves into the darker aspects of womanhood, power, and myth. While the concept is compelling, and Blythe’s reimagining of folklore and archetypal female figures is noteworthy, the execution doesn't quite live up to its potential.

The poems explore themes of beauty, danger, and transformation, offering a fresh perspective on figures like witches and sirens. However, while some poems stand out with sharp, evocative language, others feel less impactful, making the collection uneven. The repetition of certain motifs and themes can lead to a sense of predictability, and the emotional depth doesn’t always hit as hard as one might hope.

Blythe’s strength lies in her ability to craft a strong atmosphere, but at times, the poems feel more focused on the aesthetic than on delivering a resonant message. The collection is accessible and easy to read, but it may leave some readers wanting more in terms of substance and variety.

Overall, Necessary Poisons is a decent read with moments of brilliance, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights it seems capable of. For those who enjoy poetry that touches on folklore and feminist themes, it’s worth a look, but it might not leave a lasting impression. It’s a collection that feels more like a stepping stone in Blythe’s poetic journey rather than a definitive statement.

🦇Summary

A collection of horror poems centered on poison, plants, bloodshed, and the supernatural.

📚Themes & Topics: Poetry, Writing, Death, Gardens

⭐Rating: 🩸🩸

🧠 My thoughts

It's been ages since I've read any poetry. When I saw this collection, I was immediately intrigued and interested - why not step out of my comfort zone and explore some poetry? Especially poetry themed around horror.

It didn't all land for me, but there were some I really enjoyed. I loved the images scattered between the poems - odd eyes peering through flowers, beautiful and creepy. The poems themselves were simply fine. I didn't really get a lot of them nor what the connection was. I kind of got a sense of a progressing story, but wasn't really sure what the thread was that carried it through, or the perspective we were seeing it from.

Favorites Poems include A Little Background Information, The Book, All But Forgotten, Sudden Botany

When I got to the author's note at the end, I immediately wished it was at the beginning of the collect. It would have put so much more into context and framed everything much better than just blindly experiencing it. The concept is so cool, it would have benefitted from this being at the front and not the end of the collection. Overall, 2 stars from me as I only found a few poems that resonated and was generally confused with the collection.

Thank you very much to Netgalley for an ARC of this collection in exchange for my honest review!

👻Read this if you like:

Botanical Poems

Want to experience something different

👿Skip this if:

You want a coherent collection

You aren't interested in odd poetry

What I enjoyed about this was the innovative presentation of the poems. It really added to the dark and macabre theme and was refreshing to see this type of change from your typical book of poems. The imagery was great and helped me as the reader to visualize this metaphorical greenhouse. What I like about poetry is the ability of the writer to transform simple words and phrases and paint a picture that holds a much deeper meaning. I think this would be an incredibly enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys the more dark side of poetry. The botanical element was a nice twist and really created some fun imagery to enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I’ve never actually read poetry revolving around horror before, so this was unique! I loved how at the end Blythe wrote this by taking snips of Stephen King’s writing! I’ve never heard of that before! This was very dark and moody. 3 ⭐️

This is a low rating one for me. I love dark poems but this felt very confusing to read. Nothing seemed to flow or make sense. Some poems did but most did not. It felt so random... very erratic thoughts. I was left feeling discombobulated.

Then you get to the end of the book and we are told these are just sentences that were copied and pasted and rearranged to make another story. They are lines from Stephen Kings 'The Plant.' That's a neat concept but it didn't work here. Or maybe it would have if I had known that from the beginning. Then it would make more sense. I get what the author was trying to get at... the poems were trying to read Like a story where they are conntected to make a bigger, different picture than what they were originally intended for but because of so much randomness and the metaphors used it didn't quite grasp.

Necessary Poisons is a collection of macabre found poetry, the source for which is Stephen King's unfinished epistolary novel The Plant. It is a fascinating collection, if a bit flawed. Sometimes self-imposed restrictions, like only using words and phrases from a pres-existing text, can ultimately expand one's creativity. In this collection the restrictions have mixed results.

Some poems, mainly the ones about the jackal, but also a couple of others, are a pleasure to read, with an eery mysticism to them, wrapped up in a rather elegant structure. Even if the meaning wasn't transparent, those poems had a fable-like quality to them that left me with a mixture of tension and wonder. The found poetry format also allows Blythe to uncover unconventional ways of using language that probably wouldn't have occurred to her without this limit.

However, other poems, which sadly make up the majority of the collection seem somewhat unfinished, and some of those are barely comprehensible, with no clear imagery, structure or lyricism to guide the reader through. These poems also don't have a great flow (I tried reading them out loud to test it) and could have used further reworking for that alone. Also, that's a total nitpick, but in the poem "Morning, Wrapped in Maple and Pine" there is a line saying "bellies/ and breasts sewn with belladonna/ and nightshade", when belladonna and nightshade are the same plant. I have no idea if that's something taken from King's text, but it seems like a rather silly mistake for a collection centering deadly plants to have.

I really liked the artwork in the collection - it's comprised of collages that the author did from public domain imagery. It's definite proof that one can add quality artwork to book, without the budget to hire an artist, but without resorting to AI image generation.