A collection of beautiful little snapshots - most poems only just or less than a page - touching on the core aspects of the human experience through a neurodivergent (late-diagnosed autistic) lens. Observing in introspective the self, the soul, where we stand in relation to others and the world, what it means to and how we move through and exist in it. Some of these poems may seem simple on the surface but still resonated deeeply within me. I'm not normally someone who's a fan of super short, one-sentence poems, but in this case they were often my favouites and it's where this collection shines. That's not to imply the longer pieces lack quality or poise, no, but there is a particular rawness to the shorter ones. The presentation is also very lovely, written in typewriter on old notebooks and scraps of paper, interposed by photographs, adding to the contemplative, intimate, and timeless nature of the poems.

I had never read Tyler Knott Gregson's poetry before but I will have to check out more of his work after this. A stellar work of poetry, offering a piece of quietude in the constant hum of 21st century living.

Arc much graciously provided by NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing. All opinions are my own.

Nice volume of work, I really like the texture and images with this one, the format adds a lot to the reading experience. I have to say, the poet excels at fragments and short verse. I like the questions raised, the unfinished feeling. The longer poems feel like they wander, want trimming. The love poems, as usual for this poet, are strong and lovely. I adore those! Well done.

So this is my first time reading any works by Tyler Knott Gregson and had no impressions before I just jumped right in. I loved it so much that I read it in one sitting!! There were at least poems that spoke to me personally and I think the author is one heck of a poet. Very talented and authentic, which that combo alone would be considered an auto buy author. I also enjoyed the photos throughout and the different paper being typed on. Stunning job, 5 ⭐️ all day!! I cannot wait for publishing day so I can share it with all my friends!! I’ve gotta get a physical copy as well so I can highlight and annotate like crazy. Thank you to NetGalley, the punisher, and the author/poet for a chance to read and review an eARC.

I think I wanted to like Tyler Knott Gregson’s <i>The Never Was</i> more than I actually did.

Poetry, unfortunately, can often be rather hit or miss for me. This one more easily fits into the miss category, though as I’ve dabbled a little in poetry—both reading and writing—it’s difficult for me to ascertain if the miss is because I just couldn’t find an emotional connection to most of the poems or because I disliked the format of them. Judging poetry often has felt like a subjective venture rather than an objective one, but that might be largely because I’m pretty unschooled in this particular piece of academia.

I can judge the writing of a novel far easier than I can judge the poetry of a poem, I guess.

All of that to be said, I just didn’t connect here. And this could be entirely a me problem. I think I was also just feeling rather meh about the fact that there’s not truly any particular theming that I could see to tie all of these poems together, thus it felt like there was a lack of cohesion. And then I suppose I was just hoping for something with a little more emotional oomph given the chosen title.

I dunno.

This was a stunning collection of thoughts, poems, and prose on embracing your authentic self. I love that there was a balance of short and long pieces. The typed words on scraps of paper was a nice touch. The photographs were gorgeous, but I wish there were a few more photographs sprinkled throughout the book.

I've loved Tyler Knott Gregson's poetry for over a decade; in high school I would check his Tumblr daily even when I wasn't allowed to have the app on my phone. When I saw he had a new book coming out about being autistic, I was so excited, because I'm also autistic. This did not disappoint at all. So many beautiful poems in here, about everything to do with life and love and identity and passion and hope. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, Central Avenue Publishing, and Tyler Knott Gregson for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This books is full of ephemeral thoughts and poems. Each one carefully typed out on a piece of old scrap paper. The words will call out to you, like a quiet echo.

I think the best way to describe it is finding an old shoebox full of poems and photos that you forgot about. You spend an hour or two reading them and happily digging through that old box of forgotten memories.

This one will haunt me for a long time.