Published Work

Matt is a loving father and husband. Matt has been published in America’s Emerging Literary Fiction Writers: Northeast Regions, 2019 (Z Publishing House), America’s Emerging Horror Writers: East Region, 2019 (Z Publishing House), Massachusetts’s Emerging Writers; An Anthology of Fiction, 2018 (Z Publishing House), Vita Brevis Press, The Drable, Literary Yard, proletaria, and was nominated author of the month of June, 2018, on Spillwords Press. His short story “Bodies In The Basement” was nominated and elected publication of the year on SpillWords Press, 2019. Excitedly, two poems have been selected by Vita Brevis Press for its first poetry anthology, “Pain & Renewal,” 2019. Featuring brand new poets alongside Pulitzer-prize winner writers, published authors, and Pushcart Prize-winning poets. Matt’s two selected poems are called, The Abandoned Dawn, and The Birth.

 

My poem ‘Rain’ is published on Ephemeral Elegies:

I don’t write about flowers
or love, or the embrace of a lover
because so many
do this so wonderfully
that I would rather read
their version of beauty
than replay mine.
Instead I write about
how rain watches me-

You can read the rest of the poem ‘Rain’ here:

Rain by M. Taggart

 

 

Pain & Renewal-

 

#1 Bestselling New Poetry Anthology

Pain & Renewal features a collection of incredible voices — from Pulitzer & Pushcart prize winners to brand new poets, it’s filled with moving poetry about the highs and lows of the human experience. From love and loss to death, redemption, and beyond.

“There are as many forms of pain as there are paths to renewal, and I can think of no better way to explore this than through collected stories of people from around the world. In the same way the broader themes of a good book are not conveyed in one line but through many small and dispersed instances, the broader truths of pain and renewal bare their patterns when the struggles and victories of the individual are placed alongside those of the many. Read from cover to cover, I believe many of these patterns can be found in this anthology.” – Brian Geiger (Editor)

 

‘Bodies In The Basement’ award winning short story- Publication of the Year on SpillWords Press NYC, 2019.
Read the Story here: https://spillwords.com/bodies-in-the-basement/

 

May of 2019, Z Publishing House has published my short story called, Only. Just. Here. In their America’s Emerging Horror Writers: East Region. This was a blast to write. Summary: A fun read set in the surrounding mountains of the Moosehead Lake region located in Maine. A young couple recently purchased an old home which is tucked away on the side of a mountain overlooking the large lake. Paranoia sets in while Ben is home alone. He rushes from the old house and drives to the pub at the base of the lake where he’s given a vital piece of information concerning the property they’ve just purchased. His wife, having been delayed, urges him to not return to the house during a quick phone call, but he does, just as the sun is setting. And why- are all the lights on.

 

 

As of May 12, 2019 my 5,000 word short story Screaming Hills has been published by Z Publishing House. The first chapter was published by Z Publishing House in 2018. Now an additional six chapters has been published in their America’s Emerging Literary Fiction Writers: Northeast Region. You can purchase the book via the link below.

Summary: Nick, a twenty-something, feels the pressure of having lived his entire life in a tough region with a mixture of run down mills and corn fields. A region in which he’s witnessed violence, depression, anxiety and hopelessness. Nick, along with others, are at the very moment in their lives where either they choose who they are, or life chooses for them. Though he has yet to fully understand his frustration isn’t with the region, but within himself.

 

 

 

Z Publishing House has picked up a short story of mine called Screaming Hills. As soon as the book is published I’ll provide the link to purchase the soft cover. I’m just a bit excited!

Update: As of 8/8/18 Screaming Hills, in their series Massachusetts’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction, 2018, has been published by Z Publishing House. View the link below to read about the book.

 

My Poem ‘Here’ has been published on Literary Yard, August of 2019:
Here

 

My Poem A Writer’s Soul has been published on Vita Brevis:

A Writer’s Soul – Poem by M. Taggart

 

My Poem One Leaf has been published on Vita Brevis:

One Leaf – Poem by M. Taggart

 

Published work on proletaria: Five one line poems.
two monostichs and three philosophical statements by Matt Taggart

 

Odd Walking Thoughts – A Bright Girl, Published on The Drabble
https://thedrabble.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/odd-walking-thoughts-a-bright-girl/comment-page-1/?fbclid=IwAR29w4PZJ6AWFENso_wh1YUjbj5dfq3h5o1Wm0loZ1f1dqfzW8X78dXAl1Y#comment-12516

 

Poems up on SpillWords Press:

Our Self Embrace

Author of the month June, 2018. SpillWords interview

Interview Q&A With M. Taggart

My Favorite Closet

Our Day

Marvel At The Moon

Also-

From time to time I’ll mention a short story I wrote for my cousin, Adam. He was in a tough situation and the only item left for me to give was to write. And I did. I wrote from the heart. He read the story and loved it.

It’s not perfect and it’s not professionally edited. People seem to enjoy it. It’s raw and I wish you luck getting past the graphic opening chapter. I’m told the ending is worth the effort. I hope you consider reading the amazon reviews and then the story.

An excerpt, Chapter 1

His heart pounded in his chest and his ears rang. He was in hell. He was sure of it. This moment; with this feeling of sickness, and pure hatred for what he felt, was hell. Welcome to hell.

No vomit came from his stomach. No vomit came from his throat and no vomit came from his mouth. His mid-section wretched up and down looking like an October cat in a filthy dance. Up and down his body rose and nothing came out. Yet he smelled his own vomit lingering all about him. Again, he rose up, and again he produced nothing. Beads of sweat were on his forehead and it wasn’t long before they fell onto the surface of the tub. He lurched heavily downward with a massive cough and something came up. Something vile and red landed onto the tub’s floor. Black. He saw nothing but black as he slowly faded and fainted again.

-Below are links to the amazon and Barnes&Noble website pages where you can download the short story.  There’s a dog, mud, a river, and graphic situations such as the above excerpt.

Thanks for visiting this page.  Cheers.

Barnes&Noble link-

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-be-a-sally-matthew-taggart/1116001656?ean=9781483503097