Invisible Man
Ellison's landmark novel and essential starting point for his fiction.
Author guide
Ralph Ellison Books in Order
Ralph Ellison (1914–1994) was an American novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and cultural critic. His work explored race, identity, literature, music, and American culture, combining modernist techniques with African American storytelling traditions. He published one novel during his lifetime, Invisible Man, along with the essay collections Shadow and Act and Going to the Territory. After his death, editors assembled additional volumes from his manuscripts and previously unpublished writings.
literary fictionmodernist fictionshort storiesessaysliterary criticismcultural criticism
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Shadow and Act
The clearest entry point to Ellison's essays on literature, music, race, and American culture.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (3)
- Invisible Man
novel · 1952
Invisible Man is the story of a young black man from the South who does not fully understand racism in the world. Filled with hope about his future, he goes to college, but gets expelled for showing one of the white benefactors the real…
- Juneteenth
novel · 1999
In Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, Adam Sunraider, a race-baiting senator from a New England state, is mortally wounded by an assassin's bullet while making a speech on the Senate floor. To the shock of all who think they know him,…
- Three Days Before the Shooting...
novel · 2010
Set in the frame of a deathbed vigil, this story is a multi generational saga centered on the assassination of the controversial, race-baiting U.S. senator Adam Sunraider, who's being tended to by "Daddy" Hickman, the elderly black jazz…
Short fiction (1)
- Flying Home and Other Stories
short-story-collection · 1996
Raw, lyrical and blazing with intensity, these short stories are a potent distillation of the genius of Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man. 'He saw the dark bird glide into the sun and glow like a bird of flaming gold' Ranging from…
Essays and speeches (3)
- Shadow and Act
essay-collection · 1964
- Going to the Territory
essay-collection · 1986
The work of one of the most formidable figures in American intellectual life." -- Washington Post Book World The seventeen essays collected in this volume prove that Ralph Ellison was not only one of America's most dazzlingly innovative…
- The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison
essay-collection · 1995
Compiled, edited, and newly revised by Ralph Ellison’s literary executor, John F. Callahan, this Modern Library Paperback Classic includes posthumously discovered reviews, criticism, and interviews, as well as the essay collections Shadow…
Frequently asked questions about Ralph Ellison
Who was Ralph Ellison, and what was he known for?
Ralph Ellison was an American novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and cultural critic best known for his landmark novel Invisible Man.
Where was Ralph Ellison from, and what did he study?
Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and studied music at Tuskegee Institute. He later worked as a writer, teacher, and cultural critic.
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)guides.loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Ralph Ellison's writing?
His writing was shaped by African American storytelling, jazz and blues, modernist literature, and his encounters with writers including Langston Hughes and Richard Wright.
Sources: ralphellisonfoundation.org (opens in a new tab)guides.loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
What awards did Ralph Ellison receive?
Invisible Man won the 1953 National Book Award. Ellison also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, and a Rome fellowship.
Sources: nationalbook.org (opens in a new tab)loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Why is Ralph Ellison's literary legacy important?
Ellison's work made a lasting contribution to American and African American literature by examining race, identity, and American culture with innovative modernist techniques. Invisible Man remains widely regarded as a major achievement of twentieth-century literature.
Sources: guides.loc.gov (opens in a new tab)read.gov (opens in a new tab)