• NewsOK
  • Home
  • Sports
  • News
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • A&E
  • Health
  • Life
  • Weather
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Homes
  • Jobs
  • Autos
  • NewsOK Profile

NewsOK Log In

facebooktwitterinstragram
The Oklahoman

Virginia university to celebrate life and career of Ralph Ellison

BY RICK ROGERS rrogers@opubco.com Published: March 16, 2012 12:00 AM CDT Updated: March 16, 2012 12:00 AM CDT
0 shares
facebook twitter pinterest email comments
Advertisement
Ralph Ellison's 1952 book "Invisible Man."
Ralph Ellison's 1952 book "Invisible Man."

Unlike the protagonist of his novel “Invisible Man,” a man who considered himself socially invisible, Oklahoma native Ralph Ellison became one of America's most respected and highly visible authors. In celebration of the novel's 60th anniversary, Virginia's Washington and Lee University will celebrate Ellison's life and writings during a two-day symposium this weekend.

Born in Oklahoma City in 1914, Ellison studied music at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute before moving to New York in 1936. There, he befriended Richard Wright, an author who encouraged Ellison to pursue a career as a writer.

“Ellison had the good fortune to arrive in New York just after the great Harlem Renaissance,” said Marc Conner, an Ellison scholar and professor of English at Washington and Lee University. “Wright proved that a black American's novel could sell, and Ellison took those achievements even further.”

In 1952, Ellison published “Invisible Man,” a novel that explores an unnamed black man's search for his identity and place in society during the 1930s. In 1953, “Invisible Man” received the National Book Award.

“Ellison was a gifted storyteller who was brilliant at understanding the whole range of the human experience,” Conner said. “He put his great insights about economics, religion and history into a novel that was fascinating but that would challenge the reader.”

The Washington and Lee symposium will bring together many distinguished Ellison scholars, including Eric Sundquist from Johns Hopkins University and John Callahan from Lewis and Clark College. They'll be joined by several other speakers who will discuss Ellison's place in American literature.

“I think in terms of understanding race relations in America, Ellison was at least 50 years ahead of his time,” Conner said. “He believed it was necessary for America to become integrated and that we would eventually move into a post-racial era. We haven't achieved that, although we are moving closer to the kind of vision he had for America.

“Like any great writer, Ellison had a universal quality to his writing. He was steeped in the Western classical traditions and could travel easily in that rarefied atmosphere. His writings recall Homer's ‘Odyssey,' Shakespeare's ‘King Lear' and Sophocles' ‘Oedipus the King.' But he could also identify with sharecroppers and the low street culture of New York. He's the most unsnobbish writer I know.”

Conner's own research into Ellison's life and career has taken him to the Library of Congress, a Washington, D.C., repository that houses Ellison's manuscripts, personal letters and some personal memoirs.

“The Library of Congress has hundreds of boxes of Ellison's writings,” Conner said. “He and his wife, Fanny, kept everything. There must be tens of thousands of pages, which makes it a real treasure trove for scholars. I found it fascinating that you can still smell his cigars when you go through his manuscripts.”

While the influence of noted American authors of the early to mid-20th century has tended to wax and wane according to prevailing attitudes, Ellison has remained one of the seminal authors of his generation.

“Last fall, I taught an upper-level course on Ellison,” Conner said. “Most of my students hadn't read any of his works but as the course progressed, they began to see how prescient he was about where America was headed.

“They were impressed by his courage but also with his humor. People often forget how funny Ellison was. He was a satiric writer who knew we had to laugh at American culture. He called it a tragic-comic attitude toward America.

“For anyone who is unfamiliar with Ralph Ellison, his debut novel “Invisible Man” offers a good introduction to his writings. It's very readable but challenging. I consider it one of the five greatest American novels ever written.”

Related to this story

You might also be interested in...

Show more
close <figure> <img src="https://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-24514661ba3f714a6e6078d212578965.jpg" alt="Photo - A colorized portrait of Ralph Ellison by Cathy Deuschle. PROVIDED " title="A colorized portrait of Ralph Ellison by Cathy Deuschle. PROVIDED " /> <figcaption>A colorized portrait of Ralph Ellison by Cathy Deuschle. PROVIDED </figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-f56c40051ac524311d906744790980f2.jpg" alt="Photo - A photograph of Ralph Ellison taken in 1953 by Gordon Parks, one year after Ellison’s book “Invisible Man” won the National Book Award. photo provided by the Library of Congress" title="A photograph of Ralph Ellison taken in 1953 by Gordon Parks, one year after Ellison’s book “Invisible Man” won the National Book Award. photo provided by the Library of Congress" /> <figcaption>A photograph of Ralph Ellison taken in 1953 by Gordon Parks, one year after Ellison’s book “Invisible Man” won the National Book Award. photo provided by the Library of Congress</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-133b322e9d90c23822c1e79cc1096b06.jpg" alt="Photo - A sculpture of Ralph Ellison is displayed in the foyer of Oklahoma City’s Ralph Ellison Library. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman" title="A sculpture of Ralph Ellison is displayed in the foyer of Oklahoma City’s Ralph Ellison Library. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman" /> <figcaption>A sculpture of Ralph Ellison is displayed in the foyer of Oklahoma City’s Ralph Ellison Library. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman</figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img src="https://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-469cd1c06cc56105d1b10fdfce429171.jpg" alt="Photo - Ralph Ellison's 1952 book "Invisible Man." " title="Ralph Ellison's 1952 book "Invisible Man." " /> <figcaption>Ralph Ellison's 1952 book "Invisible Man." </figcaption> </figure>

Subscribe to NewsOK's Arts & Entertainment

See all the latest movie and music reviews and the latest TV and celebrity updates. Delivered daily.    View sample
Comments
NewsOK Homepage stories
  • Ricky Leon Rusche

    Oklahoma man killed Tuesday during confrontation with authorities
  •  Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora. [Photo by Todd Fraser, The...
    OKC district will have to find a new superintendent
  •  An individual prays outside the fence of Broken Arrow High School\'s Memorial Stadium on Sept.... Log-in | Read for 99¢ This article is only available to Oklahoman subscribers
    'Survivor schools' rely on quick responses to tragedy
  • Chesapeake Energy lays off 400 employees
    Chesapeake Energy lays off 400 employees
  • Zette Lea Madden
    Woman accused of smashing up Taco Bell with tire iron
  • Burn ban issued for 40 counties
    Burn ban issued for 40 counties
  • See more stories on NewsOK homepage
Advertisement


FEATURED JOBS

See All Ads


ae
Video: Reba McEntire talks about her new gig as KFC pitchwoman - 'Who wouldn’t want to be the first female Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel?'

Disclaimer

All content submitted must be your original work. You warrant that you are the sole owner of all rights in any content you submit, and that anyone appearing in your photos or videos has granted you permission to provide them to NewsOK.com. By uploading any content to NewsOK.com, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
continue
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Support
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • About Our Ads
  • Advertise With Us
  • © 2018 Produced by NewsOK.com

Comments

Email article

✓ Email Sent. Thanks for sharing!
Add more recipients