A Small Biography

While reading the first few chapters of Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, I became curious about the author himself. Honestly, the only time I had heard about his book was in another book that I had read last year, The Book Thief. So I did a bit of digging and here's what I found.

Ralph Waldo Ellison was born in Oklahoma City on March 1, 1914. In case any of you were wondering, yes, he was named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, a choice made by his father who wanted his son to become a poet. Interestingly, because Oklahoma was a state with little history of slavery (being a 'frontier' state) Ellison grew up with more freedom than some African Americans had, even those in the North. He was able to go to a good school, get tutors and mentors that were white as well as black, and had access to the town's public library. His family was poor but this better racial status could be why Invisible Man is so different than the harsh protest novels of its day (including Richard Wright's Native Son). At least so far in the novel, Ellison's attacks against racism are much more subtle (and possibly more light-hearted?) than in Native Son. His character is also quite the opposite, being educated and self-aware.

Another interesting thing I found was that after studying music in Alabama, Ellison moved to New York to study photography and while there, met Richard Wright (of all people!) who pointed him towards a career in writing fiction. The two were members of the Communist party until World War II caused Ellison to abandon it, thinking the party had betrayed African Americans. It wasn't until after serving in the Merchant Marines that Ellison began working on Invisible Man, which took him from 1947 to 1951.

Just some things to think about while reading the book!