The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison

Dec 2019 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by John F. Callahan and Dominic Hoffman

About this audiobook

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A radiant collection of letters from the renowned author of Invisible Man that traces the life and mind of a giant of American literature, with insights into the riddle of identity, the writer’s craft, and the story of a changing nation over six decades

These extensive and revealing letters span the life of Ralph Ellison and provide a remarkable window into the great writer’s life and work, his friendships, rivalries, anxieties, and all the questions about identity, art, and the American soul that bedeviled and inspired him until his death. They include early notes to his mother, written as an impoverished college student; lively exchanges with the most distinguished American writers and thinkers of his time, from Romare Bearden to Saul Bellow; and letters to friends and family from his hometown of Oklahoma City, whose influence would always be paramount.

These letters are beautifully rendered first-person accounts of Ellison’s life and work and his observations of a changing world, showing his metamorphosis from a wide-eyed student into a towering public intellectual who confronted and articulated America’s complexities.

About the author

JOHN F. CALLAHAN is the Odell Professor of Humanities at Lewis & Clark College. Callahan has been the editor or writer on numerous volumes related to African-American and 20th century literature and as the Literary Executor to Ralph Ellison, Callahan worked as the primary editor for the posthumously-released Ralph Ellison novel Juneteenth.

MARC C. CONNOR is the Associate Provost and Ballengee Professor of English at Washington & Lee University