Author Spotlight #25

WHO: Ralph Ellison

WHAT: Writer best known for Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953

WHEN: Born March 1, 1913; died April 16, 1994

WHERE: Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; died in New York City

WORK WE HAVE HERE AT LC:

Invisible Man: "As he journeys from the Deep South to the streets and basements of Harlem, from a horrifying 'battle royal' where black men are reduced to fighting animals, to a Communist rally where they are elevated to the status of trophies, Ralph Ellison's nameless protagonist ushers readers into a parallel universe that throws our own into harsh and even hilarious relief. Suspenseful and sardonic, narrated in a voice that takes in the symphonic range of the American language, black and white, Invisible Man is one of the most audacious and dazzling novels of our century."

WORDS:

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” (from Invisible Man)

“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.” (Invisible Man)

“And I love light. Perhaps you'll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form.” (Invisible Man)

FOR MORE:

• Read an interview with the author from 1955
  
• Take a look at a timeline of Ellison's career
  
• Learn more about Ellison's life here