SOURCE: "Introduction," in The City of Refuge, The Collected Stories of Rudolph Fisher, University of Missouri Press, 1987, pp. xi-xxxix.

In the following excerpt, McCluskey suggests that Fisher's short stories explore the tension arising between arriving African Americans and the modern city.

The short fiction of Dr. Rudolph "Bud" Fisher might be neatly categorized for presentation to a contemporary audience, but like all categories these would be merely for convenience, for the noting of emphases. In this volume, I have grouped the short fiction into two movements—"The Quest" and "The New Land." The first movement offers portraits that treat first or early encounters with Harlem. The new arrivals are rushed through the blur, screech, and bumps of the city and are still feeling their way. Most often, blind trust and intuition are their only guides. They have arrived with great hope, and they struggle to maintain that hope...