Cats Creep the Fire to Art:
Collected Pretentious Poems (1992-1996)
by Matthew Ward

ISBN: 978-1-934209-22-6

"Tackling such topics as death and religion, politics and history, art and women in his poetry collection Cats Creep the Fire to Art, Matthew Ward explores the spiritual and the mundane melding the metaphysical with the metaphorical. His poems transcend the reality of their literal setting—the church, a Catholic school room, suburbia, a city street, etc—to reveal more, what is "deep within" or on the surface, but overlooked. With staccato control he creates verse that is both stark and stunning; his words 'spark.'"
--Trace Sheridan
34th Parallel Magazine

If you could go back 12 years to communicate with yourself, would you slip the results of horse races that haven't been run yet (like Biff in 'Back To The Future 2') or would you offer some wise advice that may or may not be listened to?

Matthew Ward's third published work is a poetry book containing the angst-ridden poems from his university years. In this year now, 2008, Matthew reaches back through time to communicate with the Matthew from 1996, the Matthew who took himself a little bit too seriously. There he finds poetry about death (suicide, falling off buildings), substance abuse (mostly booze), the metaphysical (ghosts), women (fat, thin, hot, not), Australian identity (the Republic, the Sun!), Ireland (the 'Holy War'), religion (Catholic schools, even the Virgin Mary blowing up the world!).

This from the Writer's introduction:

"The poems contained within these walls were painfully & gleefully penned between 1992 & 1996, roughly the 2nd & final year of my BA degree (Classics / Film Studies) at Newcastle University, Australia (several years before the Howard government would gut the place & turn it into a fragile & soulless 'business assembly line').

"During this time I saw myself as a poet. I was only one of a few of my friends who wrote poetry & thought it was just a matter of time before a publisher would want to put my God-given verse into book form. But instead of a year or 2 it took 15. As the Americans say, 'Go figure'.

"Yes, that's right, I had a swelled head at that time. I have since become a bit more realistic. I no longer have fantasies about substituting for Ted Hughes or Seamus Heaney as 'Poet In Residence' at Oxbridge or Camford or wherever they were."

Matthew Ward lives & writes in his native Newcastle, Australia. In 2004, his story, 'Jake With A Snarly Smile On His Chops' was published as a novella by Independence Jones (Australia). In late 2006 World Audience (USA) published his short story anthology, 'Her Mouth Looked Like a Cat's Bum' to critical acclaim. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, printed as well as online. Ditto, his articles – both serious & satirical. He even had poetry published in the '90s! While wearing his publishing cape he created the popular Skive Magazine, now entering its frenetic 5th year. He dreams of writing the great Australian novel; failing that, the great American one.

This from the poem, 'May 31st, 1996, 5:30pm':

Stomach mumbling something about food.
Jettison-looking people in black formal,
Some not looking normal – out of it
Of exhaustion or some other stuff stuffed into their veins
To kill a hole, a void of sadness or complacency so compulsory.

'Cats Creep the Fire to Art' is a pretentious, often artistic, beautiful ride through the mind of a young man in his twenties. You'll be sure to love it and make it a talking point at parties. From the beginning with its vain tricolor '70s movie inspired front jacket, you'll have a wild time reading poetry that's so over the top and fake, along the way it becomes honesty & truth, distilled down and readily stored in the brain - it really does. This is the book you'll buy for someone else, then keep it for yourself.