Field Guide to the Haunted Forest

Haunted Forest Trilogy

by Jarod K. Anderson

This poetry collection celebrates the impossible truths of the natural world and the magic that hides in plain sight. Poet and podcaster Jarod K. Anderson (creator of The CryptoNaturalist Podcast) has built a large audience of social media followers and podcast listeners with his strange, vibrant appreciations of nature. Ranging from contemplations of mortality to appreciations of single-celled organisms, the poems in this collection highlight our connection to a living universe and affirm our place in a wilderness worthy of our love.

Genres: Poetry, Nature, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Philosophy, Environment, Mental Health

Audio CD

First published November 27, 2020

About the author

Jarod K. Anderson is a strange mix of fantasy nerd, nature writer, podcaster, poet, and erstwhile academic. He once accidentally picked up a rattlesnake and has slept in the branches of a maple tree more than most writers. He created and voices The CryptoNaturalist podcast, a show about real love for imaginary nature, and he regularly shares his poems and prose on social media. He has published three books of poetry as well as the memoir Something in the Woods Loves You, about his lifelong struggle with depression and the healing power of the natural world. His new contemporary fantasy novel Strange Animals will be published in February 2026 by Ballantine Books. He has an MA in early modern English literature and insists he’s more fun than that makes him sound. He lives with his wife and son in a little white house tucked between a park and a cemetery.

Reviews

[Deb Spencer Krohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovers of nature and poetry should get their hands on this book immediately. Absolutely beautiful. Reminds me of Mary Oliver and has the same impact of reading a M. O. poem: read poem, pause, hug book to chest, gaze off into the distance, let poem sink into your heart, feel giant smile spread across your face, repeat.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this - though I'm not usually much for poetry, and picked this up on the basis of enjoying the author's podcast, The Cryptonaturalist.

The poems here look for both a bigger meaning in the small details of the world, as well as reminding the reader that small meanings can be just as important. Some long, but most fitting on the page, it's a quick thing to check it out and see if it's something that might speak to you.

Sometimes, atoms arranged in a certain way just get very, very haunted.

That's us.

When an explosion explodes hard enough,
dust wakes up and thinks about itself.

And the writes about it.

[Stenwhicke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though many of the sentiments are nice and there are a couple truly good poems, stanzas, and lines to be found, the majority of the content is redundant and lacks artistry. Per the author's note, many of these began as social media posts, and they read that way. The ones that don't seem like tweets of affirmation feel like first drafts from a poem-a-day writing challenge. I can't help but feel like this collection would've benefited from more time spent in the drafting/editing process.

[dandelion · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm in the beginning of my journey in better understanding poetry and how to write it. In this process I'm learning what I like in a poem and what I don't like in a poem. Poems in this collection unfortunately fall under the 'don't like' category. The content of the poems wasn't the issue with it; I can see myself writing similar poems as I talk a lot about what's written here in my personal life already. What I dislike the most is the overabundance of the word "you", telling me how to feel and how to see myself. I wouldn't say it's preachy because it comes off as humble and genuine. But it does feel a bit like a self-help book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally stunning, like being lovingly bludgeoned with beauty and comforting truths.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful, wry, adoring book whose poems feel like prayer (just in the sense of awe and beautifully worded, artful gratitude) --the comparisons to Mary Oliver are apt, but Anderson has his own distinct voice. This is exactly what I needed right now, words as medicine.
I'm going to keep this near at hand and keep rereading these and soaking in them.

[Cassie ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these poems. Very much about our relation to nature - and I'm about it

[cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many compared this work with Mary Oliver’s poems, and I see the conceptual and ideas resemblance because of the same source of inspiration from them. Both worked very well with nature and bringing out human’s connection with the raw world to the form of words and poems. However, while Oliver’s words felt super intimate, beautiful, aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and ears (in sounds), and green (in a way they felt super homey, fresh, and natural), Anderson’s collections felt more like some motivational posts that I usually encountered on Instagram. I do understand that Anderson specifically said in the author’s note that most of the poems started from posts, and I can see it and I appreciate it. Poetry to me is up to preference, interpretation, time, and connection. This book might arrive at the perfect time and to a perfect person who really need these kind and true words, but sadly this one is just not for me.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studying economics like, "I drank a lot of coffee, cried a little bit, felt like I'm the stupidest person on earth and seriously considered quitting my degree and learning how to be a carpenter instead but I'm pleased to share that I've finally managed to successfully hand in the assignment". Only one more to go until I never ever have to do this level of math again.

Anyways, this book has the wholesome energy we all deserve. Review to come!

[Ashley Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholesome, thoughtful, dreamy tidbits that offer some excellent perspective. Feels like it belongs on the nightstand alongside an Alix E Harrow book and a good cup of tea.

[Kristīne Līcis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly calming and healing. Few laconic lines, and suddenly your egocentrism is overthrown, the distorted proportions of your daily drama corrected, the tilt in the balance righted, the humility along with self-esteem restored. The matter in the universe is finite, we are made of stars.
"The water in your body is just visiting.
It was a thunderstorm a week ago.
It will be an ocean soon enough.
Most of your cells come and go like morning dew.
We are more weather pattern than stone monument.
Sunlight on mist. Summer lightning.
Your choice outweigh your substance."

My inner cynic made sure I noticed that the poems often read like affirmations more suited for social media posts, that some themes were too repetitive (iron in blood same as iron in stars), that some texts felt rushed and unrefined. But the audacity of making a poetry out of gut bacteria is too appealing to dismiss.
"/../ To your gut bacteria, you are a walking fortress
and a mountaintop pasture.
/../
How many generations have you hosted?
What do they name the wilderness of you?"

"Home Safety Tip" is my favourite:
"If you are awoken by a strange sound,
make a stranger sound.

If there's no response,
congratulations.

You are a monster now.

Get out of bed.
You don't need to sleep anymore.

Now, all you need are the shadows
and the endless whispers of dark corners."

Off practicing stranger sounds.

[Stephanie Bowen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean. It was okay. It just felt like this was written by another white man (which is believe it was) trying to replicate the transcendentalist white men of the past while also channeling Rupi Kaur’s writing style and like. That’s a no from me: I think the author was trying REALLY hard to be insightful and deep and it fell so flat and made me uncomfortable with the sheer amount of cringe I felt.

[Tait Sougstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

My read list isn't full of poetry anthologies. Every so often a verse comes along that speaks to me, but most of the time I'm just confused.

Jarod's writing in the Cryptonaturalist is often powerful enough to send me scurrying for the script. I've paused episodes to ponder. In a wry and unexpected way, he is channeling the best sentiments of the transcendental movement in the form of a cryptid-trackers audio log. The poetry in the Hidden Lore segment can be arresting.

So, when he plugged his new poetry book, it festered like the prick of a thirsty blood-rose until I bought a copy. Each poem is given in free verse. Jarod confesses that his work straddles the line between poetry and prose. Several themes skip through the book like stones over a rippling brook: the place of humans in nature, deep awe of the world, self-kindness, the puzzle of our own condition, gratitude.

There are some truly breath-taking lines in here, and even some poems worth carrying about. If you are a "nature person" at all, you will enjoy this book and Jarod's podcast.

After all, a poem is lighter than most things we carry every day.

[Nina Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The problem with history is that it’s full of spiders.
They scribbled webs over the invention of doorways
and crawled into the bellies of our sleeping orators.

Show me the liar saint that never killed or cursed one.
And when we load the beds and dark corners into ships
like silver needles tugging our thin threads through space

we might declare a hasty victory over recluse and funnel-web.
But, they’ll be there. Strung up just at face-level
in the dark paths between the rocks and suns.” (p.45)

Anderson’s writing is poignant, pretty, and touching, if sometimes a little on the nose. When he hits, though, he hits it out of the park, and his work is such a beautiful pick me up and an important reminder to remember who we are in relation to all of space and time.

[Andrew Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 rounded up.

There were a few poems in there that I really liked. My problem with collections like these is so many of the individual poems are saying the exact same thing and they all blend together and feel a bit more meaningless. So, I was much happier with the few that really stood out. However, I still appreciate the overall message of the collection.

[Jeliane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholesome and sweet 🥹

In love with the candle facts 🕯️

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been thinking a lot about what to say about this book since I started reading it. Not everything felt "finished" to me, but that's okay with poetry. I think it's more common than not that poetry and poetic thoughts are never quite finished. But I will say that on almost every page I thought of someone who should read this. And as my college poetry professor would say, almost all these poems rang bells for me. In fact I could picture his little circles on the page as I mentally awarded poems one, two, or three bells. While reading I underlined the phrases that jumped out at me and I know I will be returning to my copy often for reminders like: Asking for a life-jacket is more important/ than knowing the physics of buoyancy.

[Adrienne Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

These poems reflect the parts of me that I both love and often reject. The writing is earnest and curious, whereas I like to pretend at being aloof and knowing it all. It’s funny how I wanted to yell at this author, “Don’t tell me what to do!” when he wrote imperatives like (and I’m paraphrasing) “love yourself” and “wonder at nature,” even though those are things I strive to do every day. I think I was a bit biased towards this reaction because Jarod K. Anderson is a white man and I’ve been mostly reading women and non-binary authors of color this past year. This is still a lovely little book of poems to read and ponder over.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It's exactly the kind of science and nature poetry I like, by which I mean poems that emphasise the wonder of the natural world, and poems that treat humans as part of that world and deserving of equivalent wonder thereby. If I'm scrupulously honest, for the most part this would probably be a four star read for me, as there's the occasional poem which is not quite as affecting as the others, but there's one poem and one poem alone that bumps this up to five stars, and it's very nearly the last poem in the book. It's called "Unlearning Death," and it makes an observation so simple, and so immediately true, and so utterly wonderful in its science that I couldn't believe I'd never considered it before... and there's a lot in this collection that I've considered before. I don't mean that as denigration, but this approach to science is one that appeals to me very strongly so of course I spend a lot of time thinking about it, and even exploring it in my own work. This one observation, however, is one of those realisations that when you have them, they change the way in which you see the world around you. I was absolutely delighted to recognise that dead pieces of me are already littering the landscape (hair, sloughed off skin, bitten fragments of fingernail and so forth). I find it strangely comforting. So, five stars for "Unlearning Death" alone, and liked the rest of it very well too.

[Árdís · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice to start out 2022 with poetry…
first I thought it would be difficult to describe this book but then I realised it isn’t really. It’s about nature, of course, but it actually made me think about death more than I expected! Not in a horrible way, just in a matter of fact, we are all part of something bigger kind of way!! And that was really nice.

It was about nature, animals and how the world breathes, but also about how humans are part of nature and should say thank you to trees and birds more often. Just very nice and uplifting if you’re doubting your self worth lately.

My favorite poems out of the bunch were: Woodland you, Orcas, Waiting up, In the end, and Unlearning death.

[cypress · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are going to read this, don't approach this collection as you might a poetry book. This will hinder the experience of it. Instead, imagine that you were walking through the woods and ran into some random guy wearing a cloak and carrying a staff, and he is telling you all of what is written in this book. That will make the experience more authentic, because I would not even consider the Field Guide to the Haunted Forest a poetry book, but rather an existential, and simultaneously reassuring and ominous series of ramblings.

[Mer Mendoza (Merlyn’s Book Hoard) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, this is a collection that is at turns insightful and bizarre, and really just feels like it captures the essence of nature and what it means to just exist. Big ideas for a small book, but it fills them in effortlessly.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This made me feel like I was reading someone's diary of poetry and not in a good way. Yeah, there were a couple of poems I really liked, but the bulk of them I found boring and repetitive. I love nature, but this was not it.

[Trista]

This is fine. It’s really not for me so I’m going to DNF. It seems like it’s by someone who really loves Mary Oliver and Robert Frost. The images evoked are lovely, but nothing new or interesting (to me). It’s kinda just some nice forest vibes.

[Jam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good stuff in here, but about just as much repetitive, first-draft type pieces. I think it the stronger poems would be even more impactful if the collection was scaled down to chapbook length.

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jarod strives to make me appreciate my place in nature as much as I enjoy being in nature. It is in works like these that he succeeds in doing so. What a warm cup of tea next to a bonfire of a book.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good in concept, not in form.

I like the premise a lot but thought it wasn’t well executed. A lot of the pieces also had great ideas but too on the nose for my taste.

[Rachel Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are very nice and simple poems. I like the way they talk about concepts of life and nature and made me think about it in a different way.

[Scott Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to preface what I am about to say with the words "This is not what I was expecting." I was looking at the title and thinking this would be about the supernatural and where they were found. Or about a forest that was full of the supernatural.

What I got instead was a book of poetry that is about the supernatural and the fantastic inside of the mundane things of this life. It is about how we matter. How our thoughts matter. How our dreams are related to infinity, and they matter. How being from one place and not seeing much of the world can make the world more magical. About how we are related to everything which has come before and everything which will come after because we are made of the stuff of stars.

I got a copy of this book through Kindle Unlimited. As soon as I finished the book, I went online and ordered a physical copy of this book. I needed one because I teach adolescents, and they need to know they matter. I teach them to read, write, poetry, and anything and everything else I can get across to them. Part of that will be some of the poetry in this book. It may only be 79 pages, but I hope it is 79 pages that will chage a student's world.

[MacKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt this in my soul and it recharged me. There was a bit of repetition in some of the poems, but when they hit, they hit so so hard. I want to keep this close and open in every so often to read one at random.

“You can look at any human life
as the sum of a complex collection of chemical reactions,

in much the same way as you can look at any beautiful painting
as a simple collection of pigments,

Which is to say,
you can miss the point of anything.”


“We are more weather pattern than stone monument”


“I can’t say spending time in nature heals depression.
For me, the outdoors changes sadness from a pain
to be endured to a state to be experienced.
It’s still sadness.
But in the context of green growing things
under a limitless sky, sadness is simplified.
Not a wound. A tile in the mosaic.”