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Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1913Ellison's birthday has been listed as either 1913 or 1914 by various reputable sources. – April 16, 1994) was a scholar and writer. He was born Ralph Waldo Ellison in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, named by his father after Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison was best known for his novel Invisible Man (ISBN 0679601392), which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964), a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986). Research by Lawrence Jackson, Ellison's biographer, has established that he was born a year earlier than had been previously thought.
Biography
In 1933 Ellison entered Tuskegee Institute on a scholarship to study music. He had hopes of writing a symphony. Due to financial difficulties, Ellison was forced to leave Tuskegee after 3 years. In 1936 Ellison moved to New York City where he met Richard Wright. Wright encouraged Ellison to pursue a career in writing rather than a career in music. From 1937 to 1944 Ellison had over twenty book reviews as well as short stories and articles published in magazines such as New Challenge and New Masses. During WWII Ellison joined the Merchant Marine, and in 1946 he married his second wife, the former Fanny McConnell. She supported her husband financially while he wrote Invisible Man, and typed Ellison's longhand text. She also assisted her husband in editing the typescript as it progressed.
Invisible Man explores the theme of man’s search for his identity and place in society, as seen from the perspective of an unnamed black man in the New York City of the 1940’s. In contrast to his contemporaries such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin, Ellison created characters who are dispassionate, educated, articulate and self-aware. Through the protagonist, Ellison explores the contrasts between the Northern and Southern varieties of racism and their alienating effect. The narrator is "invisible" in a figurative sense, in that "people refuse to see" him, and also experiences a kind of dissociation. The groundbreaking novel, with its treatment of previously taboo issues such as incest and white America's distorted perceptions of black sexuality, won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Rosenwald Grant, the Russwurm Award and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et Lettres. Ellison was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
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20th Century :: American
Literature :: African American
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A Conversation With Ralph Ellison - Excerpts from interviews with Ralph Ellison from the New York Times.
A Critical Look at Ellison's Fiction... - Excerpts from: Ernest Kaiser, A Critical Look at Ellison's Fiction at Social Literary Criticism by and about the Author (Black World, December 1970 [a special Ralph Ellison issue]).
A Home for Ralph Ellison's Work - Article about a visit by Fanny McConnell Ellison at the Library of Congress.
Alan Wald on Irving Howe - An article titled The Cul-de-sac of Social Democracy
Albert Murray discusses Ralph Ellison - The author and cultural historian discusses Invisible Man author Ralph Ellison on the Jerry Jazz Musician web site.
Albert Murray on Ralph Ellison - Albert Murray on Ralph Ellison: The Connection with Christopher Lydon.
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Allperson.com: Ralph Ellison - A biography, links and pictures.
Meta Description: [ Biography: Ralph Ellison ]
American Masters - Ralph Ellison - A description of the life of Ralph Ellison and a timeline.
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Article about unpublished stories written by Ralph Ellison found - When novelist Ralph Ellison died in 1994, he left behind six unpublished stories in an imitation leather briefcasethat ended up forgotten under his dining-room table.
AWG Ralph Ellison - A list of resources on the Net complete with description and ratings.
Battle Royal - Provides some interesting links, also to other works that are related to the topic.
ClassicNotes: Ralph Ellison - Comprehensive biography of Ralph Waldo Ellison written by Harvard students.
Fiction: Ralph Ellison - A short biography and links to other sites.
Introduction to Fiction Online - A chapter of this online-course specifies on Ralph Ellison, a biography, a critical archive, a bibliography and links to other pages.
IPL Online Literary Criticism Collection - The Online Literary Criticism Collection on Ralph Ellison.
Jerry Jazz Musician - The Ralph Ellison Project - The site features interviews with prominent writers who discuss Ralph Ellison. Among others Stanley Crouch, Robert O'Meally, Albert Murray, John Callahan, Michael Harper participate.
King of the Bingo Game - A lot of information about the movie about Ralph Ellison.
Meta Description: [ This Web site, provided by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is home to more than 350 television show companion sites in addition to Web-original sites. PBS Online hosts interactive content for everyone — including kids, parents, educators, and the general audience. ]
Lectures on Novels of Ralph Ellison - Ralph Ellison's literary executor, scholar and editor John F. Callahan, will make two presentations at the Library of Congress in late June.
Meta Description: [ Ralph Ellison's literary executor, scholar
and editor John F. Callahan, will make two
presentations at the Library of Congress
in late June. ]
Links to Articles about Ralph Ellison - A list of Articles about Ralph Ellison and his works.
Lives Well Lived: Ralph Ellison; Prescience, In Black and White - An Article published at January 1st, 1995 in the New York Times by Roger Rosenblatt.
New York, 1936 - An Article by Ralph Ellison, printed in Esquire, July 1986.
Online NewsHour: Ralph Ellison's Legacy - An article describing the author and his life together with some pictures.
Painted Voices - Ralph Ellison - A short biography about Ralph Ellison.
Meta Description: [ This site is the cyberspace partner of The Black Collegian Magazine and the career site providing jobs for African American college students. In addition to career planning and job search information, there is commentary by leading African American writers, entertainment features and general info... ]
Ralph Ellison - A short biography of Ellison, with links to further resources.
Meta Description: [ The Beat Generation : Writers from the Beat Era of American Literature ]
Ralph Ellison - A short biography about Ralph Ellison and some links.
Ralph Ellison - Learn more about Ralph Ellison's life and works. A short biography and links to other interesting sites.
Meta Description: [ Learn more about Ralph Ellison's life and works. ]
Ralph Ellison - Biography of the author.
Ralph Ellison - Short biography about Ralph Ellison.
Ralph Ellison - Short biography.
Ralph Ellison - A biography and a description of his novels.
Ralph Ellison - Links to pages about Ralph Ellison.
Ralph Ellison - From leftist reviews to modernist interiority - An excerpt from Thomas Hill Schaub's American Fiction in the Cold War (Wisconsin, 1991).
Ralph Ellison Award/Oklahoma Center for the Book - Information on past winners of the Ralph Ellison Award
Meta Description: [ Information on past winners of the Ralph Ellison Award ]
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Ralph Ellison Library - There's a library named after Ralph Ellison with special happenings in memory of the author.
Ralph Ellison Memorial Gallery - Provides Information about photographs that can be purchased.
Ralph Ellison Webliography - Provides lots of information about Ellison, Bibliographies, Timeline of his life, interview and images and a list of links.
Ralph Ellison Webliography - Online bibliographic resource for Ellison scholars.
Ralph Ellison Websites - A list of websites dedicated to the author.
Ralph Ellison's King of the Bingo Game - American Storytellers program based on Ralph Ellison's story. Web site includes information about Ellison, the Harlem Renaissance, and the production, as well as a teacher's guide and related resources.
Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man, Perhaps? - An Article by Tracy Roberts.
Meta Description: [ Has Ralph Ellison proved himself invinsible by authoring another novel, Juneteenth? ]
Ralph Ellison: Poet of Democratic Excellence by James Seaton - An Article from On Principle, v4n3 June 1996 by James Seaton.
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Ralph Waldo Ellison - A short biography and a description of the main works.
Robert O'Meally discusses Ralph Ellison - Author Robert O'Meally discusses Ralph Ellison's influence on American culture, particularly his impact on jazz. On Jerry Jazz Musician web page.
Short biography of Ralph Ellison - Includes a short excerpt from Invisible Man
Summer 1997 Decoding Ralph Ellison - An Article titled Decoding Ralph Ellison by Gerald Early.
Survey of American Literature - Ralph Ellison in Survey of American Literature, 1992. A biography and some information about his works.
The Art of John Coltrane and Ralph Ellison - An essay by Derek Wright.
The Invisibility of Ralph Ellison - An Essay by John Haber from New York City.
Meta Description: [ Ralph Ellison's long silence between novels and his modernity, from reviews by John Haber of New York art and culture ]
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The New Republic: From the letters of Ralph Ellison - American Culture is of a Whole: From the Letters of Ralph Ellison.
The San Antonio College LitWeb Ralph Ellison Page - A Short Bibliography of works by Ralph Ellison.
Two letters - Description of the contents of two letters from Ralph Ellison to Lowry Ware.
White View of Ralph Ellison - An excerpt from: John Corry's Profile of an American Novelist, A White View of Ralph Ellison published in Black World (December 1970--a special Ralph Ellison issue).
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