“McCarthy has whittled out a sense of freedom from the heartache of the past, and the reader is left with a remarkable vision.”―Booklist
"McCarthy's book of Midwestern threnodies begins in image and ends in solemnity . . . McCarthy's poems are profluent stories―a joy to marvel at this skill…."―The Millions
“McCarthy resets the standard for courage, and as long as we have writers of such bravery that are burning to tell their story, literature is in a good place. To name cruelty is still the last outpost of language, and to press lyricism from misery is a mystical experience — maybe even a holy one.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
“In unshowy, plaintive, quietly delivered language that should not be mistaken for affectless—and that can be stabbed through with surprisingly piercing metaphor—McCarthy vivifies a place and hard way of life too little visited.” —Library Journal
“[Scared Violent Like Horses] is full of empathy for the characters….In nearly every poem, there is some compelling depiction of the natural world.” —Tupelo Quarterly
“McCarthy asks readers not only to confront the past’s violence, but, more importantly, he provides a model for healing and, if possible, praise for what has happened, for where we’re from, and for where we’ve ended up.”
—The Arkansas International
“Ultimately, what the reader is left with is a stunning overlap of lost boy and lost landscape glimpsed through the lens of a gifted poet’s magical linguistic and storytelling abilities.”―Victoria Chang, author of OBIT
”I defy anyone who reads this book not to walk away shaken, stirred, and ultimately, utterly changed.” ―Allison Joseph, author of Confessions of a Barefaced Woman
“Throbbing with the ‘quiet ache’ of the flown-over, John McCarthy’s extraordinary perception and lingual deftness unveil the grit and humble grandeur of Springfield’s north end.”―Matt Rasmussen, author of Black Aperture
“In this devastating, gorgeous collection….McCarthy is a master of transforming his world into every kind.”―Sara Eliza Johnson, author of Bone Map
“A love letter to the Midwest, John McCarthy . . . paints a familiar, blue-collar picture of the Midwest but with a dose of surrealism that enlivens the region and gives it dynamic force in his storytelling.” ―Chicago Review of Books
“Ghost County throbs with anger. What these poems reveal is the beauty of those things we might find commonplace now. McCarthy shines a spotlight on the familiar and glossed over.” ―Curbside Books & Records
”These poems work like a pensive map to all of the secret and sometimes regrettable things that make us human: longing, bent expectations, tenacity, and long horizons on every side.” ―Adrian Matejka, author of The Big Smoke
“In this stunning debut, John McCarthy illuminates this complexity and curiosity of life in so-called ‘flyover country.’ The poems in Ghost Country move fiercely between violence and love with equal measure and means.” ―Adam Clay, author of Stranger
“In these gritty poems, McCarthy exposes a grimmer reality tainted by drugs, alcohol, poverty, and violence. McCarthy’s poems pay close attention to a darker middle life, and they do not flinch.” ―Sandy Longhorn, author of Blood Almanac
”Impassioned and insightful, this is a book that travels between those very real places not found on any map: memory, disappointment, and love. ―Charlotte Pence, author of Many Small Fires
“McCarthy has the craft and vision of someone who’s been at this for a very long time.” ―Chad Simpson, author of Tell Everyone I Said Hi
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