With the same intellectual incisiveness and supple, stylish prose he brought to his classic novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison examines his antecedents and in so doing illuminates the literature, music, and culture of both black and white America. His range is virtuosic, encompassing Mark Twain and Richard Wright, Mahalia Jackson and Charlie Parker, The Birth of a Nation and the Dante-esque landscape of Harlem--"the scene and symbol of the Negro's perpetual alienation in the land of his birth." Throughout, he gives us what amounts to an episodic autobiography that traces his formation as a writer as well as the genesis of Invisible Man.
On every page, Ellison reveals his idiosyncratic and often contrarian brilliance, his insistence on refuting both black and white stereotypes of what an African American writer should say or be. The result is a book that continues to instruct, delight, and occasionally outrage readers.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Ralph Ellison (1914-1994) was born in Oklahoma and trained as a musician at Tuskegee Institute from 1933 to 1936, at which time a visit to New York and a meeting with Richard Wright led to his first attempts at fiction. Invisible Man won the National Book Award. Appointed to the Academy of American Arts and Letters in 1964, Ellison taught at several institutions, including Bard College, the University of Chicago, and New York University, where he was Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities.
Ralph Ellison examines his antecedents and in so doing illuminates the literature, music, and culture of both black and white America.
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Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. New Ed. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 4442362-6
Seller: Night Heron Books, Laramie, WY, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Good. Cover clean and in good condition. Underlining to text but not extensive. Seller Inventory # 754534
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394717163I5N00
Seller: True Oak Books, Highland, NY, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good+. Reissue Edition. 317 pages; light yellowing on pages. Previous owner's name on the inside of the front cover. Very slightly cocked spine. Minor shelf rubbing and few minor, faint smudges on the covers and spine. Good condition otherwise. No other noteworthy defects. No markings on text pages. ; - Your satisfaction is our priority. We offer free returns and respond promptly to all inquiries. Your item will be packaged with care and ship on the same or next business day. Buy with confidence. Seller Inventory # HVD-74298-A-0
Seller: Sequitur Books, Boonsboro, MD, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. [Interesting provenance: From the private library of renowned historian, Philip D. Morgan.] Softcover. Good binding and cover. Shelf wear. Moderate toning. Contemporary signature of Morgan on front end page. From the professional library of Dr. Philip D. Morgan, a professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Morgan specializes in the African-American experience, the history of slavery, the early Caribbean, and the study of the early Atlantic world. Morgan is the author of more than 14 books on Colonial America and African American history. He has won both the Bancroft Prize and the Frederick Douglass Prize for his book Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Lowcountry (1998). Seller Inventory # 2504290015
Seller: Chamblin Bookmine, Jacksonville, FL, U.S.A.
Softcover. 12mo. Condition: Very Good. Vintage Books edition. Wraps have some handling wear of lightly rubbed surface and creased fore edge with closed tears and chipped at upper front and back edges. Spine is creased near the foot. Edges are straight. Text block is square. Red marking on bottom edge. Binding is firm. 317p. Interior is unmarked with crisp pages through out. Seller Inventory # 112942
Seller: Glands of Destiny First Edition Books, Sedro Woolley, WA, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Publisher: Vintage Books, NYC., 1972. First Softcover Thus, First Printing. FINE softcover book in illustrated wraps, as issued. Remainder marked. NOT faded. NOT a book club edition. NOT an ex-library copy. Seller Inventory # SKU1011527