Playing God - by Richard Kelly Kemick (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Writer Richard Kelly Kemick humorously tracks his growing obsession with Christmas villages in this short essay that also acts as a holiday card. Playing God originally appeared in the collection Decadence, and as a limited chapbook--both published by Biblioasis.

Review Quotes

Praise for Hello, Horse

"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)

"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 Man

Praise 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 Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers

About the Author

Richard Kelly Kemick is an award-winning poet, journalist, and fiction writer. His limited series podcast, Natural Life, is an intimate and unexpectedly honest documentary on his cousin, who is serving a life sentence without parole in Michigan. Richard is also the author of I Am Herod (also on audiobook), which takes readers undercover at one of the world's largest religious events, and Caribou Run, a collection of poetry. He is the recipient of multiple awards including two National Magazine Awards and the Writers' Guild of Alberta's 2019 Award for Best Short Story. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.