Praise for Hello, Horse"The animal world interacts with the human one in confounding and sometimes wondrous ways in Kemick’s first collection, which abounds with the poet’s sideways, observational writing."—Globe and Mail"Innovative is the joy that Kemick seems to take in juxtaposing the grotesque with the comical. Consider a father whose limb gets amputated by a rock saw with a blade so hot that it instantly cauterizes the wound. 'An arm’s lopped onto the dirt and the shoulder socket’s a dead-end,” Kemick gleefully describes, quickly adding the macabre remark that “everything had been burned closed and probably smelled like hamburger'. . . Kemick’s unique voice shines with these moments of tonal whiplash. By using dark humour to sharpen the impact of otherwise grim scenarios, he traverses the extremes of slapstick comedy and gory tragedy."—Literary Review of Canada"The tales here mix whimsy, weirdness, lust, and Canadian politics, bringing to mind George Saunders and the slackers from Wayne’s World . . . He has a penchant for alternating between things familiar and bizarre . . . Provocative, entertaining short fiction."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Throughout the book is a masterful tension in the idea that reality is always already stranger than it seems. From talking dogs to brutal, cross-checking nuns, Hello, Horse is smart writing."—Alberta Views"Restless, exuberant, meandering, funny, inventive, and really quite bonkers . . . Either Kemick is one of those rare, savant-like authors whose outpouring is naturally (and enviably) stylish, or he tempers what seems to be a natural, baroque extravagance with careful, word-by-word revision. Whatever the case, readers will notice—and ought to appreciate—those sentences . . . All in all, Hello, Horse gallops and canters, dazzles and makes a splash. Prepare to be wowed."—The Miramichi Reader"Overall, Kemick has balanced visually rich absurdity . . . and the general malaise of youth with admirable, poetic flair. This is an unapologetically unique slice of Canadiana."—The BC Review"Rollicking and acrobatic, guffaw-inducing, a bit excessive, and an Exhibit A of the natural born writer. What’s not to love?"—Brett Josef Grubisic, The BC Review"[Richard Kelly Kemick's] a mad genius. The stories are based on wacky premises . . . yet they are gorgeously rendered and surprisingly poignant."—Caroline Adderson, Scout Book Club"The year 2024 has Richard Kelly Kemick, whose wild imagination and fresh insights cast a spell in Hello, Horse; every entrancing story casts off in a different direction, with a genuine 'wait? what?!' moment you did not see coming."—Susan Grimbly, Zed: Zoomer Book Club"Richard Kelly Kemick’s Hello, Horse is wildly original and filled with astonishing moments. A wonderful collection that resonates long after reading."—Don Gillmor, author of Breaking and Entering"Hello, Horse is beguiling and wondrous, with talking dogs and nuns at the end of the world, images that linger with strange pleasure; Richard Kelly Kemick is a stellar wordsmith."—Mark Anthony Jarman, author of Burn ManPraise for Richard Kelly Kemick"Kemick convincingly wrests the sublime from the trivial. He manages, astonishingly, a tone both earnest and ironic, with details and insights that are lively, unexpected, funny, and poignant."—National Magazine Awards“Richard Kemick spends a summer in Alberta's Bible Belt where it may be easier to find God than a vegetarian meal. There, he confronts age-old questions about belief with near-miraculous freshness, honesty, and humour. A deeply personal investigation of the blurred border between faith and imagination.”—Marcello Di Cintio, author of Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers“Laugh out loud funny . . . Kemick’s own faith or lack thereof is . . . one of the deeper themes that courses beneath the comedy.”—Calgary Herald“Wisecracking, earnest, and charmingly obsessive, Kemick introduces himself here as a poet who believes in something larger than his own self, and so is a poet to watch.”—Nick Thran
