Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. Overall, this was confusing until I read the back and found out it was just random words from another book strung together like poetry. I wish I would have known that from the start as I would not have tried to make sense of anything. It is an interesting art form

Some of these poems were definitely better than others, as with every collection. I liked the idea that the poems were not written from scratch, but based on lines from Stephen King's work "The Plant", but I did not feel like they flowed nicely. I also did not know what they are based on until it was mentioned at the end of the book, which made everything even more confusing.

The art that was sprinkled through the book was cool, even if I did not feel like it was that related to the poems. Overall, a diverse collection (as the poems had different vibes) but not the best result, in my opinion. It is hard to judge this style (being based on someone else's work), but sadly this was not really memorable.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Jumbled poetry --- "no sense on the pages". Andrea Blythe wrote this collection in a haze, not remembering any of what has been penned down. A group of found poetry, where the words once belonged, but when displaced, makes us lose our mind. I think that's the premise that this book wanted to put out, and is heavily inspired by Stephen King's unfinished epistolary "The Plant". The idea, great. The execution, not so much. I tried to understand that this book is supposed to be jumbled, but there is no sense, no rhyme to this. It might've made sense to the author, me as the reader, not at all. I think what made this jarring was that the sentences, the phrases already took the essence of a previous author. It doesn't take on a new message, and that felt incomplete to me.

Ok so when I was reading this I was a little confused because it felt like bits and pieces stuck together (which of course it is) and there were certain parts that were fantastic. But it was so confusing I was going to give this a 1 or a 2.

But then I read the end and it made so much sense and looking back on it made it enjoyable. I really feel like the explain of this type of poetry really really should be in the beginning of the book because it will make it waaaaaaay more enjoyable.

Thank you so much for letting me read this 🫶🏻

i think the concept of grabbing snippets of written works to make poetry is very interesting. with this particular group of poems i didn’t quite understand the meaning behind them which will have to warrant a reread because i feel like there is meaning behind each one. overall i really enjoyed this concept and writing style of these poems.

A profound collection that sits with you after, you have to lay there and truly think, blythe is a wonderful, fulfilling author.

nice set of found poetry, a little light on the horror compared to what i would think from this but still nice

this collection is a book of ‘found poetry’, a reordering of an existing literary work to create new meanings. here, the author reconceptualised ‘the plant’, an unfinished stephen king novel about a rejected author sending an evil plant to take over a publishing house in an act of revenge. andrea blythe reworked this story into a poetic representation of a woman uncomfortable with her body and mind, her place in the world, and how others perceive her. i really liked this - i thought it was really creative and unique and ultimately succeeded in what it was trying to do. however, for the most part it didn’t evoke a very strong emotional reaction in me (possibly because it was created from someone else’s work rather than something entirely new coming from the author themselves?). because of this, i don’t think it will stick with me long-term like other poetry has. i still really recommend reading this though if you are interested by the synopsis!

my favourites
the intention of being
on taboo ground
a wake
a matter of transition
making arrangements
all but forgotten
sudden botany
of the earth
student of more

thank you netgalley for the e-arc :)

Necessary is a collection of found poetry published by the wonderful Interstellar Flight Press. This collection has a lot of emphasis on poisonous plants and manuscripts. The poems were created by taking pages of The Plant by Stephen King, which is an unfinished epistolary novel, and blacking out words until a new poem emerges. I really find the way that the poetry was created really interesting, and I would love to try this method.

It must be difficult to create poems only using the words of others. Some of the poems were not as impactful, because of they seemed to lack a central story. This is the tricky part of only using the words on a single page. However, there were a few poems that were unbelievably good and inspiring.

If you are interested to see poems created from a Stephen King text while creating its own story that runs throughout the collection then I would recommend checking out this collection.

Can’t say I liked this. Most of these poems were just mumbled and had no meaning. Literally read like someone was just trying to use big words and sound smart. Only thing I can say is the illustrations were cool.

I did receive this as an eARC from NetGalley.

This is the first volume of found poetry I've read, and I was fascinated by it! I really enjoyed the poems, and the overall theming of the book. I would read more collections from this author. If you enjoy poetry & spooky themes, you will probably like this short but interesting collection of poetry!

This collection is a really cool mix of surreal and otherworldly poems that dive into big ideas like figuring out who you are and dealing with the messy, sometimes harsh world around us.

The poems have a fantasy and horror vibe, with a lot of inspiration from nature and poisonous plants, which gives them a wild, cosmic energy. The author have a haunting style but also really thoughtful, exploring how horror and transformation can go hand in hand.

My favorite poem was <b>The Book</b> it talks about our identity being made up of a bunch of different words and ideas, kind of like a book written on our skin. It mentions that other people would try to “read” us or understand who we are by looking at the surface, but they can't really get the whole picture. At the end, it says that not even we fully understand ourselves. And I think it's a good metaphor, since we never truly know a person to a 100%

In simpler terms, the poem suggests that people are complicated, and it’s hard for anyone (even ourselves) to fully understand all the layers that make up who we are. It touches on the feeling of being mysterious, even to yourself.

If you're into poetry that mixes mystical and creepy elements or are just like me, and love to read out of your comfort zone from time to time. It's a super immersive read, and it's a very short collection.

And the illustrations are a cool touch 😋👌

A fascinating collection of poetry. A little dark and horror themed in the best way. This is an exploration of and discovery of strength found using dark methods. Such fun.

Rated up my rating 2.5

Let's start with the cover art. I love it, personally. It's something that would catch my eye on the shelf and I think it captures the title nicely.

This is my first exposure to found poetry; admittedly, I am not particularly impressed. The concept is interesting, and I commend the author for that, but it felt messy and hard to follow. My eyes and brain wanted to keep skipping over words because it was searching for meaning and found none. There was only one poem in the whole collection that I resonated with enough that I kept going back to it to read it and really let it sink in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the chance to review this.

Though I undersatand there might be reasons as to why this could've been done on purpose, it was not very enjoyable to read a collection of poems that felt random, each of them not quite flowing as they should.

Some lines were really beautiful, still. The kind that would be reblogged on Tumblr or used in an indie song. My main problem is that the beauty of some also tended to make it more apparent that the following poem was not as great.

I received this ARC from Netgalley.

This collection of dark poetry is both rich in imagery and has a good vibe for the more autumnal seasons.
It was a very quick read, and though enjoyable, often became a bit difficult to follow. "The Manuscript" is also repeated a lot, which I understand has a purpose but at times it's a bit too much.
I really like the idea of found poetry and I think that Blythe used Stephen King's 'The plant' in an interesting way.
Unfortunately, I didn't have any emotional connections to this collection, and the story leaves something to be desired.

Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC of Necessary Poisons in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed and picked up on the throughline pretty quick, which made sense to me. A woman figuring out her story and where she fits in life both with herself and others. Mostly, what makes it a 3 for me is that there are some poems that don't seem to fit the flow great and some of the lines to me sound nice/cool but didn't make sense in the larger structure of the poem. After reading the authors note and finding out that it is all found poetry from a Stephen King novel, it made me think that some of the lines were just that. Love the idea of found poetry, but I think it's very tricky to pull off in a cohesive manner. I will give it that a majority was pretty cohesive as I could find the plot, but it got lost sometimes, leaving me with a "huh?" moment that had me questioning if I actually did grasp what was going on.

Publishing date: 07.10.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I expected: A witchy book with poems about poisons, potions, and herbs
I got: Found-poetry with themes of domestic horrors
The book left me: Reflecting on my own domestic horrors

Poetry style:
Found-poetry based on Stephen King's "The Plant". Works well here

Amount of poems: 30 poems

Features:
5 Beautiful artworks, themes of domesticity, horrors of the mind and everyday life

Final ranking and star rating?
4 stars, B tier. This was a beautiful collection, one that I could relate to. If you wish to experience found-poetry for the first time, I would say this is a good collection to start. I haven't read "The Plant", so I don't know if it does the book justice. But it works well enough to pique my interest to read the book.

Favorite poems:
A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
THE INTENTION OF BEING
THE OTHER GRAY AREA
THE BOOK
SMILE, NO HUMOR
BELATEDLY, THE REFUSAL
A BOQUET OF ILLUSIONS
THE ZENITH
MORNING, WRAPPED IN MAPLE AND PINE

Found poetry can be a bit hit or miss for me, it's not always something I enjoy, but I thought the premise of this collection was good. The imagery in the poems was top notch, but at times almost a little too much. That being said, it didn't take away from the overall journey of the poetry and the themes were consistent across the collection which made it a quick, enjoyable read.

Delightfully morbid and dark. It was a quick read and perfect for spooky season. I appreciated the found poem format and think it is executed well.