Quillette has a piece on the eminent author that begins oddly.
Ralph Ellison, author of the timeless American classic Invisible Man, was among the most commanding black literary voices to emerge in the 20th century. It is a designation he would almost certainly have resented. Ellison didn’t see his work through the prism of his racial identity but as a means of transcending it... He wanted to “do with black life what Homer did with Greek life” as Clyde Taylor, a professor at NYU, put it.
Quite right. So why label him that way? He probably succeeded as well as anyone can at that great and difficult task.
Otherwise, it's not a terrible essay. It ends on a hopeful note that race may finally be beginning to pass away, though so deep a wound does not heal quickly. Great book. I should dig out my copy and read it again.
First, though, I should get the rest of the way through the Laws. We're just getting to an interesting part, about the perils of wealth redistribution.
Watching my kids, and the world they're growing up in, I think it was passing away, and that's why those who rely on racial friction for power have become so desperate to make it relevant again. We'll see if they have succeeded or not.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the link for those interested in reading it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for what it's worth, I'd never even realized that Ellison was black until this.
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