Ascent

by Matt Bialer

For a few days in the fall of 1903, the little town of Van Meter, Iowa was terrorized at night by an 8 foot tall winged creature. Nobody had a camera to take a picture but the story made the local newspapers, including The Des Moines Daily News. Journalists made fun of Van Meter's citizens and declared they were creating a hoax or were the victims of a practical joke-or they were all crazy. But these were respectable doctors, businessmen, and bankers who witnessed and shot at this Thing which did not flinch from bullets. What was this creature? Was it something that came from Hell itself? In this epic poem, Matt Bialer, poet of the weird and paranormal, explores the possibilities of myth as a reflection of the human condition.

Genres: Horror, Poetry, Science Fiction

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2014

About the author

Matt Bialer is the author of eight books of poetry including Radius (Les Editions du Zaporogue), Already Here, Ark, Black Powder, (all from Black Coffee Press) Bridge (Leaky Boot Press) ,Tell Them What I Saw (PS Publishing, UK) He Walks On All Fours (Dynatox Ministries) and Ascent (Bizarro Pulp Press). His poems have appeared in many print and online journals including La Zaporogue, Green Mountains Review, Gobbet, Forklift Ohio, Cultural Weekly and H_NGM_N. He is also an acclaimed black and white street photographer and watercolorist who has exhibited widely. Some of his photographs are in the permanent collections of The Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of the City of New York and the The New York Public Library and his watercolors are in many private collections. His photographic monograph, More Than You Know, was published in 2011 by Les Editions du Zaporogue and Shadowbrook, a book of his paintings was issued by the same publisher in 2012. Matt lives with his wife Lenora Lapidus and daughter Izzy in Park Slope, Brooklyn. His website is www.mattbialer.com

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evidence destroyed does not disprove the existence of aberrant occurrences. An alluring story in poetry form about men and monsters.

[Chris Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Bialer has taken a really tried and tested horror subject (individual perspectives in a parochial US town being terrorised by a winged beast) and created something so profound and epic as to be almost Homeric.

In my opinion, 'Ascent' is the final turning point in the Bizarro Pulp Press's re-vamp (since the Journalstone take-over) that establishes it once and for all as a pioneering force in the world of bizarre fiction. Bialer's combination of deft nuance mixed with a flare for surreal and terrifying grandeur will leave you hungry for more, trust me!

Expertly crafted and always engaging, this is a must read for anyone looking for a gateway into the world of the poetic form.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deliciously creepy little book, sparingly written but enough to make you go to bed with the lights on. For those who enjoy cryptozoology, The Jersey Devil, Mothman, all that ... this is a juicy little quick read that should be read around a campfire in the dark woods.

[Kris Lugosi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of poetry, that being said, this read more like a documentary with flashbacks to the past. I really enjoyed it. I read it twice in one sitting. Review pending.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slice of sci-fi, a creepy horror from the darkness, an unfaithful wedding or a fabrication.

This epic poem runs at you from the darkness and keeps you climbing to the last few words written.