THE KINGFISHER

An allegorical novelette envisions a fantastical creature as holding the key to freeing Black citizens from prejudice and police brutality.

Written in the second person, this story casts the reader as the protagonist. The reader’s journey begins at Princeton University’s Seventy-Nine Hall, where Kingfisher, “part man and dragon fish-like beast,” is a captive. Releasing his chained wings will allow him to escape, as he’s the ransom for redemption from “perpetual slavery and unjust policing and death by police.” But the reader winds up a prisoner as well in the Hall’s dungeon. With hands restrained, the reader gasps for breath as someone presses a knee on the neck. The reader must first break free with the help of Kingfisher. The creature can also provide the reader guidance, along with the Queen of Mamas’ lullaby, on how to reach the Village of Mothers and earn the key to unlocking Kingfisher’s cage. This sometimes-treacherous adventure demands that the reader brave the Forest of Lynching, brimming with such dangers as police with red sirens and people draped in white sheets carrying burning torches. But once Kingfisher is free, all Black citizens will be, too. Though metaphorical, much of Clovis’ tale is transparent, as it’s clear what the characters and plot turns symbolize. Still, parts are left to interpretation; for example, the author herself seems to be a guide, whispering into the reader/protagonist’s ear to start the journey. While the story hits on topical issues like George Floyd’s death and police discrimination, it also pushes historical transgressions into the foreground, most notably the appalling Tuskegee experiment. Clovis’ lyrical prose, as in her previous books, graces the pages: “The nature of the universe is vibrational in the expression of power in sound, music, and mantra. This key is true freedom and allows us to transcend the level of awareness from which word becomes spiritual power and flesh.”

An engrossing tale of racial intolerance that revels in profundity and hope.