Ralph Ellison

Bio

(1914-1994) Novelist, writer. Ralph Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Apart from the winter of 1937 spent in Dayton, Ohio, the war years in the merchant marine, and two years (1955-1957) in Rome as a guest of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Ralph Ellison lived in New York City on St. Nicholas Avenue from his arrival there in 1936 until his death in 1994. In the 1930s and 40s, Ellison could be found at the Albert Schomburg Library. He worked for the New Challenge with Richard Wright. In 1938, he was hired by the Federal Writers Project. From 1937 to 1944, Ellison wrote over twenty book reviews for such radical periodicals as New Challenge, Direction, and The Negro Quarterly. In 1940, the New Masses printed at least one piece by him every month. After his publication of several short stories, he set about working on his novel, which began with the words: “I am an invisible man.” He worked on this novel at his apartment on St. Nicholas Avenue, and then traveled downtown every morning to work like any businessman. Using a friend’s 5th Avenue office, he put in at least eight hours a day writing before returning home. This novel, published as “Invisible Man” in 1952, has since achieved the status of an undisputed classic of American literature. Also, Ellison published “Shadow and Act” (1964), essays on race, the artist, and society. In 2014 the United States Postal Service issued its 29th stamp in the Literary Arts series in honor of Ralph Ellison.