7 Spooky Poetry Collections to Read If You Loved Wednesday on Netflix
Within days of its Netflix release in late November, Wednesday catapulted to the top of viewers’ most-watched lists. The eerie, nostalgic series has already inspired so much fandom that it’s been renewed for a second season. The show follows the iconic Wednesday Addams, portrayed by the up-and-coming Jenna Ortega, as she starts school at the supernatural Nevermore Academy and solves a monster mystery. If you devoured the eight-episode first season, here are seven poetry collections to continue the suspense and spookiness.
1. The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace
Amanda Lovelace’s bestselling poetry, which has spanned multiple collections and series’, takes inspiration from witchy and magical women. Oftentimes, her collections show people being fearful of, intimidated by, or misunderstanding of these women—a fate Wednesday also comes up against in the show—but ultimately, the heroines at the heart of her verses triumph.
2. Midwest Gothic by Laura Donnelly
The gothic aesthetic is ever-present throughout Wednesday, a trait it shares with this poetry collection by the award-winning Laura Donnelly. In Midwest Gothic, Donnelly uses skillful imagery to illuminate the uncanny and often surreal details of seemingly ordinary reality. Like the mystical world of Wednesday, the world in these poems is not what it first appears to be.
3. Girl Bred from the 90s by Olivia Delgado
One undeniable reason that Wednesday has been resonating with viewers is the nostalgia factor. Though the beloved Addams family characters first came alive in a series of 1938 New Yorker cartoons, they were perhaps most popularized through the Oscar-nominated 90s films starring Christina Ricci and Anjelica Huston. Girl Bred from the 90s also pays homage to this complex, revered time period, as well as tells a coming-of-age story that mirrors Wednesday’s teenage themes.
4. The Envious Siblings by Landis Blair
As is pointed out in the first episode of the series, Wednesday’s name comes from a line within an old English nursery rhyme—“Wednesday’s child is full of woe.” This foretells that a child born on Wednesday will experience bad luck and turbulence, an eerie superstition that underscores the often surprisingly dark themes within nursery rhymes. The Envious Siblings, a graphic novel that pairs illustrations with childlike poetic verse, leans into this morbidity. In this playful yet sinister work, monsters emerge on the train, on the playground, and in other seemingly everyday settings.
5. Essential Tales and Poems by Edgar Allen Poe
Long before Wednesday Addams, famed poet Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most emo and gothic figures in pop culture. The foreboding scenes in his writing—from ominously ticking clocks to a dark sky full of ravens—could be straight out of a modern-day Netflix show. Even Wednesday’s school, Nevermore Academy, takes its name from a famous work by Poe.
6. The Moon Is Always Female by Marge Piercy
Throughout her long-spanning career, which has so far produced 17 novels and 19 poetry collections, women’s empowerment has stood out as a strong theme in Marge Piercy’s work, an underlying emphasis fans of Wednesday are sure to appreciate.Like Wednesday, Piercy never shies away from topics like doom, death, and grief—rather, they serve as central themes as she peers deeply into the human condition.
7. Fortunate: Tarot Poetry by Kim Rashidi
Wednesday Addams can see the future—a prophetic, unusual gift that acts as a big plot device throughout the season. Kim Rashidi’s Fortunate, a poetry collection that revolves around the major arcana in tarot, also leans into divination. Understanding the powerful symbolism behind tarot cards like the lovers, the high priestess, and the emperor will make you feel like you’re in Wednesday’s forward-looking world.
After you fill your TBR shelf, fill up your watch list, too. Excitedly awaiting new episodes of Wednesday? Check out our top four TV recs for poets in the meantime.
