“Perhaps Cain’s epic is a prime example of the sort of necropastoral that McSweeney has

“Perhaps Cain’s epic is a prime example of the sort of necropastoral that McSweeney has described. Perhaps it is a poem thoughtfully spreading its poisons (i.e. ‘this is my screw being yanked from decades of paint / this is my poisonous poem which lives in the lead’). The long, intricate after, the microbial livelihood that makes a necropastoral possible. Kids of the Black Hole feels like something we shouldn’t be allowed to read. There were times when I felt as if I couldn’t continue reading. It feels like a ‘homestead beyond the clouds.’ It feels like something ‘shocked back to life.’ I honestly haven’t felt this affected by a book—by a poem—in a very long time.”

Read my entire review of Cain’s debut book [here]