Early Praise for Judas Goat!

As someone who's written a lot of bookseller write-ups, reviews, and blurbs of other people's books over the years, it's really amazing—a kind of painful joy—to see my own book read and interpreted with such depth and care. Publishing a book is an intensely emotional and anxious experience, in general, (at least, it is for me). I feel so lucky that Judas Goat is garnering early praise as the publication date approaches—way more than I ever expected—and I wanted to gather some of them here, in a little roundup. Eagerly awaiting my first critical, negative review! (Just kidding, please don't trash my book publicly) (unless you do it in a really smart way) (in which case, go for it).

EARLY PRAISE FOR JUDAS GOAT (TIN HOUSE)

A Chicago Review of Books Must-Read A The Millions Must-Read A Vulture Most-Anticipated Book of Winter “Stunning… nearly impossible to put down…” —Autostraddle “This is the first-ever poetry collection [we have] ever recommended. The words leap off the page. Bates will be a lasting voice in the modern poetry landscape.” —Debutiful “…reveals the deception, purchase, and stakes of human behavior.” —Poetry Foundation "Haunting" —Alta Journal “Outstanding debut... poems that arrive at the level of the senses already in motion, like the back of an animal velvet-warm and writhing beneath the hand.” —Powell’s City of Books "Remarkable... quiet poems that scream from the page... one of America’s most unique voices." —The Poetry Question "I’ve written elsewhere that the border between the sacred and the profane is porous, but Bates’s debut makes me wonder if such a border even exists. Original... hypnotic... razor-sharp" —The Millions