The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison..., Ralph Ellison
The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison..., Ralph Ellison
2 Rating(s)
List: $45.00 | Sale: $31.50
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The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison

Author: Ralph Ellison, John F. Callahan, Marc C. Conner

Narrator: Dominic Hoffman, John F. Callahan

Unabridged: 49 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/17/2019


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by TheBookWarren on November 02, 2020

4.75 Stars — Even though this deeply personal collection from one of the most influential authors of modern literature was always going to be insightful, it has absolutely no right to be this wonderful. But that’s just exactly what this large, rich & striking text was for me, just bloody wonderful! E......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on March 27, 2020

Ralph Ellison (1913-1994) completed only one novel in his lifetime, but he was an accomplished essayist and letter writer. In a letter to Richard Wright, he wrote, "Letters come with difficulty." But "there was a time when I was more myself when writing a letter than at any other time." His volumino......more

Goodreads review by Fred on June 18, 2020

Of you like Allison's Invisible Man and wonder why a second novel never came out, these letters dramatize his struggle with the problem as well as the many successes he had in life. He went from hoboing trains to get to Tuskegee to becoming a major literary American voice and a leader in Afro Americ......more

Goodreads review by Emilie on February 02, 2024

Is it possible to read a lifetime of letters and not form a parasocial relationship? I would never feed you onions and garlic <3......more

Goodreads review by Luis on February 20, 2020

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaways. First of all “The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison” is an encyclopedic collection of 60 years of correspondence, ranging from the 1930s to the 1990's. So a reader will find some letters more interesting than others, based on the topic discussed on them......more