A Visitation of Spirits

Randall Kenan

Chapters (29)

Praise for Randall Kenan and A Visitation of Spirits

“Randall Kenan is a genius, our Black Marquez. He weaves myth, folktales, magic, and reality like no one else I know, and doesn’t miss a beat.” —Terry McMillan

“Remarkable for its very ambiguities, this stylistically daring novel steers wide of the literature of oppression and uplift, and shares even less with tales of coming-out, in short, an original.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Oh, the magic and music Randall Kenan brings to the page.”

—Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life

“A gifted, confident writer.” —Raleigh News and Observer

“Kenan’s grasp of his lightly fictionalized home’s history, geography, and culture was as keen as Faulkner’s.” —Slate

“One of America’s finest writers.” —Southern Review of Books

“These stories are accomplished and polished.”

—Chicago Review of Books, on If I Had Two Wings

“Nothing short of a wonder-book.”

—New York Times Book Review, on Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

A Visitation of Spirits

Also by Randall Kenan

ALSO BY RANDALL KENAN

Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

Walking on Water

The Fire This Time

If I Had Two Wings

Title Page

Grove Press

New York

Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Scanning, uploading, and electronic distribution of this book or the facilitation of such without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any member of educational institutions wishing to photo copy part or all of the work for classroom use, or anthology, should send inquiries to Grove Atlantic, 154 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011 or [email protected].

“Walk on By,” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, © 1964 Blue Seas Music Inc. and Jac Music Company. Used by permission. “Fire and Rain,” by James Taylor, ©1969 Country Road Music Inc. and SBK Blackwood Music, Inc., all rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission. “Subjunctive,” reproduced by permission from the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, second edition, unabridged. © 1987 by Random House, Inc. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, ©1974 Big Pig Music, Ltd., all rights for the United States administered by Unichappell Music Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. “Joy to the World,” by Hoyt Axton, © 1970 by Lady Jane Music. Words and music by Hoyt Axton. Used by Permission.“The Womanhood, Section II,” by Gwendolyn Brooks, from Blacks, © 1987 by Gwendolyn Brooks. Used by permission

Originally published in the United States in 1989 by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.