What do you think?
Rate this book
The Withering: Poems of Supernatural Horror
In these poems originally written during her adolescence—now polished to a rare shine by a practiced hand—Ashley Dioses evokes an unrelenting sequence of raw, carnal images sure to delight all fans of the morbid and the macabre. Down frightful corridors, both internal and external, the poetess leads us through the cobwebs of the natural world, through the entrance to a realm of sorcery, demons, and the undead. Emerging from this twilight Otherworld, harrowed by haunting sensations, we find ourselves questioning sanity as we stumble upon a surgical suite filled with delectable selections of bloody delights. Treat yourself to some cemetery necromancy, or sit back and enjoy a nice cloying sorbet with The Withering. With a foreword by horror/sci-fi/cyberpunk legend John Shirley, and featuring cover art and numerous interior illustrations by noted British weird artist Mutartis Boswell.
Praise for The Withering
“. . . poetry from a night-blooming blossom . . . these poems are a wild view into the mind of a talented young woman, throbbing with incantatory power, and making this reader wonder if she will eventually become the Poet Laureate of the modern Goth subculture.” — John Shirley, author of Wetbones and Demons, from his foreword
“With these verses, Ashley Dioses weaves together the incantatory rhythm of a witch’s spell. Luminous language is contorted to reveal dark images, connected to traditional Gothic works and yet not limited by them. The mysterious is entwined with the playful, and the result will lure you to a very beautiful and disturbing place.” — S. P. Miskowski, author of The Worst Is Yet to Come
“The worlds of The Withering are bleak, black-white places. The poems of this collection are glimmering, bright-clean bones picked dry, clean and neat. They come from a visceral, bleeding place, and expose a raw, powerful feeling. Guillotines, glitter and even a wry sense of humor, Ashley Dioses’ second collection shows just as much talent as the first.” — S. L. Edwards, author of The Death of an Author
“The Withering by Ashley Dioses is a showcase of rich, gothic delights: an ecstasy of love and life lost. Dioses paints bleak and exotic, lyric hellscapes and lush narratives, often describing eternal, supernatural suffering and vengeance from the inside out. The subtext of so many of these dark, often wrathful poems presents the reader with a plaintive, deeply human question: what am I? Ultimately, the poetic persona empowers herself through an act of self-discovery, answering her own question, exultantly, by addressing the reader (and perhaps Nature itself): ‘I am your Monster.’” — Jon Padgett, author of The Secret of Ventriloquism and co-editor-in-chief of Vastarien: A Literary Journal
“With Diary of a Sorceress Ashley Dioses established her place at the top of the Weird Poetry field. With The Withering she shows that she has actually been there for years; like one of the succubi in her poems, lying in wait, ready to dazzle and destroy us. In the modern era, Weird Poetry has rarely been so sublime.” — Obadiah Baird, editor of The Audient Void: A Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy
Praise for The Withering
“. . . poetry from a night-blooming blossom . . . these poems are a wild view into the mind of a talented young woman, throbbing with incantatory power, and making this reader wonder if she will eventually become the Poet Laureate of the modern Goth subculture.” — John Shirley, author of Wetbones and Demons, from his foreword
“With these verses, Ashley Dioses weaves together the incantatory rhythm of a witch’s spell. Luminous language is contorted to reveal dark images, connected to traditional Gothic works and yet not limited by them. The mysterious is entwined with the playful, and the result will lure you to a very beautiful and disturbing place.” — S. P. Miskowski, author of The Worst Is Yet to Come
“The worlds of The Withering are bleak, black-white places. The poems of this collection are glimmering, bright-clean bones picked dry, clean and neat. They come from a visceral, bleeding place, and expose a raw, powerful feeling. Guillotines, glitter and even a wry sense of humor, Ashley Dioses’ second collection shows just as much talent as the first.” — S. L. Edwards, author of The Death of an Author
“The Withering by Ashley Dioses is a showcase of rich, gothic delights: an ecstasy of love and life lost. Dioses paints bleak and exotic, lyric hellscapes and lush narratives, often describing eternal, supernatural suffering and vengeance from the inside out. The subtext of so many of these dark, often wrathful poems presents the reader with a plaintive, deeply human question: what am I? Ultimately, the poetic persona empowers herself through an act of self-discovery, answering her own question, exultantly, by addressing the reader (and perhaps Nature itself): ‘I am your Monster.’” — Jon Padgett, author of The Secret of Ventriloquism and co-editor-in-chief of Vastarien: A Literary Journal
“With Diary of a Sorceress Ashley Dioses established her place at the top of the Weird Poetry field. With The Withering she shows that she has actually been there for years; like one of the succubi in her poems, lying in wait, ready to dazzle and destroy us. In the modern era, Weird Poetry has rarely been so sublime.” — Obadiah Baird, editor of The Audient Void: A Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy
140 pages, Paperback
Published December 12, 2020
2 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Dioses
89 books119 followersAshley began writing at the age of 12. Upon discovering the macabre work of Edgar Allan Poe, she took a borderline obsessive interest in writing horror and dark fantasy poetry and even a few fantasy novels. Her favorite authors of horror and fantasy at that time were Stephen King, Dean Koontz, J.R.R. Tolkien, Piers Anthony, and Brian Jacques who also influenced her work.
She wrote up until her senior year of high school and then took a break before starting up again after college in 2011. With a nudge from a new friend, she discovered a new kind of horror, dark fantasy, and weird work from authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, George Sterling, Donald Sidney-Fryer, and David Park Barnitz.
With this new treasure trove of horror and weird authors, she began to broaden her writing.
Aside from writing, her other passion is martial arts. When she was 12 she started practicing a shotokan Japanese karate mix (called 'American' karate) and Judo at Red Dragon until she reached 3rd class brown belt at 15. At 18 she started practicing Soo Bahk Do, a Korean karate, where she stayed for four years, getting her black belt and taught as an instructor for a brief period of time before leaving.
She wrote up until her senior year of high school and then took a break before starting up again after college in 2011. With a nudge from a new friend, she discovered a new kind of horror, dark fantasy, and weird work from authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, George Sterling, Donald Sidney-Fryer, and David Park Barnitz.
With this new treasure trove of horror and weird authors, she began to broaden her writing.
Aside from writing, her other passion is martial arts. When she was 12 she started practicing a shotokan Japanese karate mix (called 'American' karate) and Judo at Red Dragon until she reached 3rd class brown belt at 15. At 18 she started practicing Soo Bahk Do, a Korean karate, where she stayed for four years, getting her black belt and taught as an instructor for a brief period of time before leaving.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 12, 2021
THE WITHERING is a dark revelation! As with any mastered art, the apparent effortlessness of Ashley Dioses’s poetic skill is a result of years of practice. Like a blacksmith she has forged the molten passion of her youth into cold steel sharp enough to draw blood. And as all the best horror poets understood—Poe, Baudelaire, Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft—the inescapable rhythm of metrical poetry is unsurpassed as a means of expressing the macabre and the decadent. Dioses’s work falls squarely in this ancient tradition, and plays no small part in its burgeoning renaissance.
February 13, 2021
The Withering, by Ashley Dioses: Jackanapes Press, 135 pages. Poetry.
I picked up a signed copy of this book from the author and read it over about a week to savor the poetry inside. There are 55 poems, divided into 4 sections entitled: A Luminous Darkness, Pale Radiance, Night Cries, and A is for Axe Murderer. In an Afterword, the author tells us a little about her genesis as a poet and about the pieces in the collection. She indicates that these are primarily pieces from early in her writing career, dating back even to high school. (She has actually had a previous collection of poetry published called Diary of a Sorceress, which contains poems from later in her career.)
The collection is impressive for a writer of such youth. I also wrote some poetry at a young age but nothing as erudite as these. They are definitely not juvenilia, but fully realized and articulate pieces. They are rhyming poems, written around horror themes, and often with a formal structure. It’s a difficult style to master but Dioses moves through them with verve and confidence.
My favorites in the collection are “Obliterate,” “Hollow King,” and “I am the most Beautiful Angel.” Here’s a quatrain from “Obliterate.”
The stones erode away,
And tales evaporate.
All memories decay,
The years obliterate.
There are also many other wonderful lines in other pieces, such as “My heart and soul are sparrow-black” and “Then scents of smoke, of myrrh, of rum,…”
There’s an outstanding cover by Mutartis Boswell, whose work I don’t remember seeing before but which I imagine I’ll see a lot of in the future. Boswell also did numerous interior illustrations for the book, which are set beautifully to really enhance the presentation of the poetry.
All in all, The Withering is a very professional package filled with some lovingly crafted and memorable poems. If you’re into dark poetry, this is an excellent reading choice.
I picked up a signed copy of this book from the author and read it over about a week to savor the poetry inside. There are 55 poems, divided into 4 sections entitled: A Luminous Darkness, Pale Radiance, Night Cries, and A is for Axe Murderer. In an Afterword, the author tells us a little about her genesis as a poet and about the pieces in the collection. She indicates that these are primarily pieces from early in her writing career, dating back even to high school. (She has actually had a previous collection of poetry published called Diary of a Sorceress, which contains poems from later in her career.)
The collection is impressive for a writer of such youth. I also wrote some poetry at a young age but nothing as erudite as these. They are definitely not juvenilia, but fully realized and articulate pieces. They are rhyming poems, written around horror themes, and often with a formal structure. It’s a difficult style to master but Dioses moves through them with verve and confidence.
My favorites in the collection are “Obliterate,” “Hollow King,” and “I am the most Beautiful Angel.” Here’s a quatrain from “Obliterate.”
The stones erode away,
And tales evaporate.
All memories decay,
The years obliterate.
There are also many other wonderful lines in other pieces, such as “My heart and soul are sparrow-black” and “Then scents of smoke, of myrrh, of rum,…”
There’s an outstanding cover by Mutartis Boswell, whose work I don’t remember seeing before but which I imagine I’ll see a lot of in the future. Boswell also did numerous interior illustrations for the book, which are set beautifully to really enhance the presentation of the poetry.
All in all, The Withering is a very professional package filled with some lovingly crafted and memorable poems. If you’re into dark poetry, this is an excellent reading choice.
February 16, 2024
This was a delightful read. I picked up this collection as I highly enjoyed Ashley Dioses's poems that where published in Special Realms weird poetry journal. The collection didn't disappoint. It's lovely seeing the writing journey of miss Dioses through this book.
I had most enjoyment time with the poems from the Pale Radiance section of the book, with where the more supernatural and occult themed poems. (Like A Fixed Star, a Soul of Filth, An Angel's Fall from Grace and I Am the Most Beautiful Angel where among some of my favorite in that section.)
I also quite enjoyed the afterword and endnotes. Miss Dioses and I seem to have similar taste in movies and ghost haunting shows. That's always fun to find out.
I had most enjoyment time with the poems from the Pale Radiance section of the book, with where the more supernatural and occult themed poems. (Like A Fixed Star, a Soul of Filth, An Angel's Fall from Grace and I Am the Most Beautiful Angel where among some of my favorite in that section.)
I also quite enjoyed the afterword and endnotes. Miss Dioses and I seem to have similar taste in movies and ghost haunting shows. That's always fun to find out.
December 20, 2021
This is another book of poetry in the tradition of "California Romantic", elegant, with hints of decadence and a melancholy turn. It's the second volume of such work from this author, and that's a good thing, especially as that means there will likely be more of these.
Very brisk and professional presentation, delicate fleurettes of language with just enough rapier edge to stay this side of precious, delighting in the dark, bloody, and mysterious.
I'd recommend this without reservations. If you do make reservations, get the absynthe as a cordial, and mind the black roses.
Very brisk and professional presentation, delicate fleurettes of language with just enough rapier edge to stay this side of precious, delighting in the dark, bloody, and mysterious.
I'd recommend this without reservations. If you do make reservations, get the absynthe as a cordial, and mind the black roses.
March 22, 2021
Just finished reading The Withering, by Ashley Dioses, and really enjoyed it. The book features Miss Ashley's early work, when she was finding her poetic voice, and although it is not as refined as her first book, Diary of a Sorceress, there are many inspired moments, and the amazing artwork by Mutartis Boswell really brings her macabre verses to life. Check it out at Jackanapes Press: https://www.jackanapespress.com/produ...
February 8, 2021
I'm not usually a fan of rhyming poetry, I much prefer free verse, however I thought I would give this collection a go because the artwork that comes along with it is great. In fact, that is the main thing that drew me to the publication on Amazon. Reading through these poems reminded me why I was not a fan. Most people can't do it well, they miss meter, even if they have the number of syllables right the flow when the words are enunciated is off or they really stretch for rhymes often relying on the same words between poems (e.g. at least three instances of the rhyming couplet of 'pain and vain' - p87, p74, p59), or try to make the narrative fit the rhyme and things don't always make sense. I encourage all poets to read out loud. Poetry is a spoken art. Just because something looks ok on the page, doesn't mean it sounds right when spoken. With these poems, I sometimes found myself tongue tied, usually when the author was going for some kind of specific technique like alliteration, assonance or onomatopoeia. Rather than leaving it at a functional level, sometimes it was a bit overdone (e.g. "Her sanguine exterior / Just made her much cheerier." p122 - that just sounds silly considering a girl has self-harmed herself enough to rip off all her skin in order to stand out from the crowd; or "Vivid vermillion changed to chartreuse now, / As the bright tiles bedazzled both their eyes." p97 - 7 alliterative elements in 2 lines? Like make-up, less is more).
In addition, when a collection is brought together, it becomes obvious if the writer relies on certain words or phrases. If I read one poem, I do not want to read essentially the same words a few poems later. I'll remember the first instances and assume the writer is lazy or can't find new words. There are always new words. These repetitions should be weeded out during the editing process, just like they would be for a novel or short story unless they serve a particular technique or purpose, in which case, the poems should be separated greatly IMO.
I also felt they were quite juvenile - admittedly, I understood why when I read the afterward, the author wrote these poems when they were in high school. I did enjoy some of them, and some of the imagery was interesting to the point where it did paint a picture in my mind, but there was also a lot of blandness and repetition.
Overall, I don't think this collection was for me. IMO, unless you are some kind of savant, high school poetry should stay in the countless exercise books crammed in a box in your parent's garage. Although it does have its uses. It would be interesting to see a comparison between this writer's high school stuff and their most recent poetry to see how they have grown as a writer. I would buy a book with a high school poem on one page and a more recent poem on the opposite page covering the same topic - or a rewrite. That would be fun.
In addition, when a collection is brought together, it becomes obvious if the writer relies on certain words or phrases. If I read one poem, I do not want to read essentially the same words a few poems later. I'll remember the first instances and assume the writer is lazy or can't find new words. There are always new words. These repetitions should be weeded out during the editing process, just like they would be for a novel or short story unless they serve a particular technique or purpose, in which case, the poems should be separated greatly IMO.
I also felt they were quite juvenile - admittedly, I understood why when I read the afterward, the author wrote these poems when they were in high school. I did enjoy some of them, and some of the imagery was interesting to the point where it did paint a picture in my mind, but there was also a lot of blandness and repetition.
Overall, I don't think this collection was for me. IMO, unless you are some kind of savant, high school poetry should stay in the countless exercise books crammed in a box in your parent's garage. Although it does have its uses. It would be interesting to see a comparison between this writer's high school stuff and their most recent poetry to see how they have grown as a writer. I would buy a book with a high school poem on one page and a more recent poem on the opposite page covering the same topic - or a rewrite. That would be fun.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews