In 1952, Ralph Ellison (1914-1994) published his novel Invisible Man, which transformed the dynamics of American literature. The novel won the National Book Award, extended the themes of his early short stories, and dramatized in fictional form the cultural theories expressed in his later essay collections Shadow & Act and Going to the Territory.
In Shadowing Ralph Ellison, John Wright traces Ellison's intellectual and aesthetic development and the evolution of his cultural philosophy throughout his long career. The book explores Ellison's published fiction, his criticism and correspondence, and his passionate exchanges with—and impact on—other literary intellectuals during the Cold War 1950s and during the culture wars of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Wright examines Ellison's body of work through the lens of Ellison's cosmopolitan philosophy of art and culture, which the writer began to construct during the late 1930s. Ellison, Wright argues, eschewed orthodoxy in both political and cultural discourse, maintaining that to achieve the highest cultural awareness and the greatest personal integrity, the individual must cultivate forms of thinking and acting that are fluid, improvisational, and vitalistic—like the blues and jazz. Accordingly, Ellison elaborated throughout his body of work the innumerable ways that rigid cultural labels, categories, and concepts—from racial stereotypes and fashionable academic theories to conventional political doctrines—fail to capture the full potential of human consciousness. Instead, Ellison advocated forms of consciousness and culture akin to what the blues and jazz reveal, and he portrayed those musical traditions as the best embodiment of the evolving American spirit.
John Wright is associate professor of African American and African studies and English at the University of Minnesota and is faculty scholar for the Archie Givens, Sr., Collection of African American Literature and Life. He coedited, with Michael S. Harper, A Ralph Ellison Festival (a special volume of the Carleton Miscellany).
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
A critical study of the writings and thought of the American literary genius and his blues and jazz derived “vernacular” aesthetic
--- Offers a prominent Ellison scholar’s analysis of Invisible Man and Shadow and Act
--- Features new information gleaned from interviews with Ellison’s friends and contemporaries, including Albert Murray and Stanley Crouch
--- Covers Ellison’s entire career and the way his thoughts on race and class changed
--- Extends our Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_1578068509
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think1578068509
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover1578068509
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard1578068509
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. No Jacket. First Edition. 1st EDITION. This copy is NEW; the text is clear, bright, and unmarked; binding is tight. No jacket, the covers are New: intact , including excellent color and design. We have a five star rating because of our fulfilment success and because our descriptions are accurate On foreign sales, because of the heavy weight of this book, we have to charge extra for shipping: however, we will only charge the difference between our regular shipping rate and the extra charge that the U.S.Post Office asks to ship the book. We guarantee: NO NASTY SURPRISES. Seller Inventory # 019777
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks384864
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.32. Seller Inventory # Q-1578068509