Necessary Poisons

“In a collection of otherworldly poems, Andrea Blythe deftly constructs verses that function like surreal puzzle boxes, inviting readers to unravel the complexities of identity and self-discovery within the context of a vast, unexplainable, and often violent world. By grounding her poems in the organic and the natural, Blythe walks a dazzling line somewhere between bloody corporeality and cosmic wonder. An exhilarating and provocative work.” 

—Claire C. Holland, author of I Am Not Your Final Girl

“Andrea Blythe is one of the most unique and gifted fantasy-horror authors out there today, and her latest book, Necessary Poisons, is proof why she should be at the top of your reading list. With gorgeous and haunting language that feels as lush as the poisonous plants that inspire it, this collection is a heartfelt ode to Stephen King, and a truly breathtaking accomplishment that's not to be missed.”

—Gwendolyn Kiste, Lambda Literary and Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Reluctant Immortals and The Rust Maidens

"Andrea Blythe’s found poetry is horror and resurrection and soil, jackals and poison plants and dead things transformed. She actively erases story in search of narrative: her collection is method as well as madness, and the two come together as a literary chrysalis, where the act of adaptation results in mutations that slink and shriek over the page.”

—Dr. Octavia Cade, author of Chemical Letters and Mary Shelley Makes a Monster 

Andrea Blythe is an author, poet, and game writer. Necessary Poisons is her fourth collection of poetry. Her previous chapbooks include Twelve: Poems Inspired by the Brothers Grimm Tale (Interstellar Flight Press, 2020); Your Molten Heart / A Seed to Hatch (2018), a Kickstarter-funded collection of erasure poems; and Every Girl Becomes the Wolf (Finishing Line Press, 2018), a collaborative chapbook she coauthored with Laura Madeline Wiseman. She is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association and the Horror Writers Association. Find her on Twitter @AndreaBlythe or at www.andreablythe.com.