I Am Herod is one of those rare volumes that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf.
–– Michael Carson, Midwest Book Review
A delightfully funny page-turner, I Am Herod feels refreshingly new. The book looks at belief, how we understand those who are unlike us, and how we navigate truth and lies among the circus and spectacle of everyday life.
–– Jury comments, Writers’ Guild of Alberta Literary Awards
Shortlisted for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta best nonfiction book of the year, I Am Herod (also on audiobook) explores the inner workings of the country’s largest Passion play. From the controversial choice of casting to the bizarre life in rehearsal, this glorious behind-the-scenes look at one of Canada’s strangest theatrical spectacles also confronts the role of religion in contemporary life and the void left by its absence for non-believers.
In the tradition of tragic luminaries such as David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Goldstein, and David Sedaris, Richard gives his congregation of readers unparalleled access to the players of the Passion: there’s Judas, who wears a leather jacket even when it’s 30˚C; Pontius Pilate, the only actor who swears; the Holy Spirit, who is breaking ground as the role’s first female actor; and the understudy Christ, the previous year’s real-deal Christ who was demoted to backup and now performs illicit one-man shows backstage.
Other Nonfiction
- “The Night of the Good Towels” on CBC Radio’s The Doc Project.
- “Footprints in the Sand” in Taddle Creek.
- “Selling the Kemick House” on CBC Radio’s The Doc Project.
- “Scrapyard” in The Puritan.
- “The Young Taxidermist of Alberta” in Taddle Creek.
- “Mother’s Day” on CBC Radio’s The Doc Project.
- “The Christmas Village Dictator” on CBC’s The Doc Project.
- “Through the Aquarium Glass” in The Walrus.
- “Sweeping It under the Carpet” in The Walrus.
- “Life After Late Fees” in The Walrus.
- “Playing God” in The Walrus.
- “The Other Side of Lost” in MONTECRISTO Magazine.
Reviews/Interviews