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Bikeman: An Epic Poem

That Forever September Morning

We remember it with stunning clarity: where we were, what we were doing, and most vividly, how we felt on September 11, 2001.

Bikeman (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $12.99) offers author Thomas F. Flynn's account, as an epic poem, of his own experience as he set off on his bike toward the World Trade Center towers and experienced the horror and devastation firsthand. Written with the detail and immediacy of a seasoned journalist and the eloquence and compassion of a poet, Bikeman is a deeply moving recollection of a haunting day that will live forever in our collective memory.

Flynn notes that although much has been said and written about the events of that day, the focus has been primarily on the 9/12 world — the consequences and repercussions, or the causes and logistics. He believes, however, that we as a country are finally ready to transcend that detached examination, and to focus honestly and emotionally on the day itself — the feelings it evoked, and the shared humanity of the experience.

Written in a searing free verse that imposes discipline on raw emotion without denying its intensity, Bikeman is everyone's story, because, as Flynn reflects, "everyone shared in that moment and that pain and that hurt. It is all our history." Indeed, Bikeman articulates what many have asked in the wake of that day: "How do we continue to live our lives after this?" He voices this fear and uncertainty, candidly considering:

... Will the blue skies and sun-frolicked waters
I left this morning be the same again? ...

Will joy still exist?...

Bikeman Is Available As An Audiobook

This selection from the audiobook recording of BIKEMAN is provided through the courtesy of Brilliance Audio. The unabridged audiobook is available on compact disc, MP3-CD, and for download.

What will I feel?
Who will I be, when I regain my life?

He delves deeper, recounting the immense pain and suffering that he witnessed. Although he initially resists emotion, trying to remain an observant recorder, he inevitably surrenders:

I am an unprotected wound, sliced
with the hurt, the sting, the pain
of others. Is that a tear? Yes.
I hear the cries in the dusty air,
I hear cries echoing in the ruins.
I hear cries and I weep, without control, without shame.

The vivid, urgent detail of all that surrounded the events of the day, affecting every sense — sight, sound, touch, taste, smell — is compelling. The grief and horror described are palpable. As a witness, Flynn is filled with confusion and doubt, yet a subsequent feeling of unity (and inherently, hope) emerges. The shared experience forged a unity that cannot be denied:

I feel a community with all of them,
and they with me. Those I look at,
look back at me, mute and solemn
with an openness with a welcoming
I had not known before in this city.
As if to say, we are one now,
We must look out for each other,
Care for each other ...

Bikeman is our messenger, as well as the "forever companion" of the dead. Teeming with powerful emotion, this beautifully written poem provides the foundation for an honest and provocative reflection of that forever September morning that will continue to remain in our communal consciousness and hearts.

About Thomas F. Flynn

Thomas F. Flynn is an award-winning television producer and writer. He explains that the style of this book formed as he re-read Dante's Inferno and began to realize how "the parallel worlds of his journey to hell and mine ran together." Flynn is married to Nancy Reardon and has a daughter, Kate. He divides his time between downtown New York City and Cape Cod.

bikeman1.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Contact: Kathy Hilliard, (800) 851-8923, ext. 6921, khilliard@amuniversal.com