Dean Clemons
The Snipe’s Screech
The Snipe’s Screech
In 1982, Boyd Chatham, a newly graduated herpetologist, picks up his brother Tag from the Salem Penitentiary in his MGB, license plate RNPRERN. They embark on an emotionally charged journey to Sommerset Memorial Cemetery to bury their mother Charlotte, who they refer to as, the Frog. The brothers rekindle bonds with their Indigenous step siblings as they reflect on their difficult childhood and how they had planned two murders as acts of revenge. As he drives, Boyd is haunted by memories of their older brother Myles, murdered a decade earlier, with the quirky projectionist Newt narrating these recollections in Boyd’s cranium. Their road trip is filled with unexpected encounters, including a waitress named Jacqueline wearing a nametag reading. Angel, and a Coast Guard team that connects them to their stepbrother's military past.
On their journey home, they navigate to a restaurant recommended by their stepsister Fat, where they meet a grizzled Chief Petty Officer who becomes emotional upon realizing that he served in Vietnam with their step brother, Jimmy. The brothers help old friends at a traffic accident scene. The friends had saved Boyd from drowning in 1976 as he was trying to kill Myles’s killer. They encounter xenophobic signs regarding the sawmill closure, reminding them that they have enemies and their enemies have friends. At the cemetery, they meet familiar faces, including their former Child Protective Services worker, now the director, a wise shaman, and their lawyer nicknamed Spock. The burial meeting is tense but concludes with plans for a service at Sommer Community Church with the new pastor as the officiant. As they confront their childhood traumas, Boyd and Tag must also bless a newly carved canoe and ensure Charlotte's final resting place is honored, all while heeding the commands of the snipe, of their past, in The Snipe’s Screech.
Snipe's Screech Book Signing - Genessee, CO
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
-Toni Morrison
“Toni Morrison’s quote had whispered to me for many years. I’ve known that my siblings and I were the only people on the planet that had lived our story and the commensurate context to write our story. The murder of our brother is the catalyst of The Snipe’s Screech. I recognized that if our story was to be told in a fictional narrative, then I would be the one to write it. Our story did not end with a shotgun blast. We trudged on. We adapted. We evolved. We laughed. I wanted to document that resilience and do so before our mother passed. I was further motivated to write this fictional tale as a gift to my wife, our inspirational sons and their fabulous cousins.”
Dean Clemons
