Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison was an African-American novelist and writer originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ellison was born on March 1, 1914, and was named Ralph Waldo Ellison after the acclaimed author Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison wrote the critically-awarded book Invisible Man in 1952 which won a National Book Award.http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/lit/ellison.htm

On April 16, 1994, Ellison died of pancreatic cancer in New York City, New York. At the time of his death, he had written over 2,000 pages of a second novel that he never completed. The unfinished manuscript was edited by John Callahan and posthumously released under the title Juneteenth in 1999.http://kirjasto.sci.fi/rellison.htm

Ralph Ellison's career as a writer began while he was in school. He was inspired by reading the works of authors, such as Ernest Hemingway and T.S. Eliot, saying that he connected the sentiments of these writers with everyday life "within the Negro communities" where he grew up. At Tuskegee Institute, Ellison studied classical composition. While there, he met the poet Langston Hughes and the author Richard Wright, who encouraged Ellison to pursue a writing career.http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/obituaries/ralph-ellison-author-of-invisible-man-is-dead-at-80.html?ref=ralph_ellison&pagewanted=2

In 1942, Ralph Ellison became the managing editor of the Negro Quarterly and continued publishing short stories for various journals. He began working on his first novel in 1945 and would not complete it for seven years. The story revolved around an anonymous young black man growing up in the Southern United States. Throughout the story, he attempts to become recognized for more than his race, but is frustrated by the racial discrimination he faces.http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/obituaries/ralph-ellison-author-of-invisible-man-is-dead-at-80.html?ref=ralph_ellison&pagewanted=1 Invisible Man was finally published in 1952 and, a year later, the novel won the prestigious "National Book Award". Ellison was the first African-American to receive the honor.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ralph-ellison/career-timeline/588/

After the success of his first book, Ellison continued to publish short stories and began working on his second novel, which would never be completed. He began teaching at various universities, including Columbia, Rutgers and Yale. He was awarded a National Medal of Arts award in 1985 for his published works.http://kirjasto.sci.fi/rellison.htm

• 1952: The Invisible Man
• 1957: The Living Novel (contributor)
• 1964: Shadow and Act
• 1964: The Writer's Experience (with Karl Shapiro)
• 1965: Education of the Deprived and Segregated (contributor)
• 1965: Who Speaks for the Negro? (contributor)
• 1968: The City in Crisis (with Whitney M. Young and Herbert Gans)
• 1968: To Heal and to Built (contributor)
• 1976: American Law: The Third Century, The Law Bicentennial Volume (contributor)
• 1986: Going to the Territory
• 1995: The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison
• 1997: Flying Home and Other Stories
• 1999: Juneteenthhttp://kirjasto.sci.fi/rellison.htm

"When I discover who I am, I'll be free."http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7508.Ralph_Ellison

"Good fiction is made of that which is real, and reality is difficult to come by."http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7508.Ralph_Ellison

"The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it." — from Invisible Manhttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7508.Ralph_Ellison