About
The Cain Review is a newsletter of rejected literary offerings. It was started by me, Ahmed Kabil, a writer and editor living in Barcelona whose last name (قابيل) is Arabic for “Cain.” (Yes, that Cain.)
Another newsletter? Seriously?
Yes.
Why?
Well, I guess because I’ve been working on a long thing for a long while and the progress is slow and I toil in solitude and I occasionally take breaks to write shorter things, which I sometimes submit to literary magazines and contests and wait a very long while to receive kindly-worded form rejections. Given that I am creature who thrives on the validation of others, I figured I’d start this up to share some things I’ve written and am writing that don’t otherwise have a reputable home — the hope being that friends who haven’t heard from me in a while and strangers who’ve never heard from me might read these things I write and tell me, “Hey, you know, that’s pretty good.” Or: “It’s nice to get a window into your thoughts, Ahmed. I’ve missed you.” Or, if you also happen to be a writer: “[Insert compassionate feedback about how said piece of writing might be improved here]”
So this newsletter is just…your rejected writing.
Pretty much. Also works-in-progress, works-abandoned-or-neglected, works-that-couldn’t-quite-stick-the-landing. Writing that is convention-defying or formally unusual. Maybe some thoughts on craft and process.
Won’t it suck?
Maybe. Although recall that the Old Testament never definitively answered why God rejected Cain’s offering. All God said was: “Thank you for your patience while I evaluated your offering. I regret that I am unable to accept it, but I appreciate your interest.”
So who is this for?
Like much of the writing it showcases, this is a newsletter that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be yet. It doesn’t know its niche or its intended audience. It doesn’t know its raison d’etre. (Isn’t it a bit like you or me, I hear John Lennon sing.) It is entirely possible — indeed, likely — that few people will be interested in a newsletter of content deemed unfit or unready for publication by a relatively unknown writer.
Okay, you’ve almost sold me on this. Anything else to seal the deal?
Ah yes, one last thing: I’m starting this newsletter on the eve of becoming a father. A countdown widget on my phone tells me my unborn child is due in 37 days. It’s about the worst possible time to start something whose success, beyond the factors of market fit mentioned above, hinges on consistent output. So there’s that.
Wow.
I know.
