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Film, Video Ralph Ellison: A Biography

Event video

About this Item

Title

  • Ralph Ellison: A Biography

Summary

  • Ralph Ellison never produced another novel in his lifetime after his magnum opus "Invisible Man," which won the National Book Award in 1953. Did success ruin him? This is one theme in the new biography of Ellison by Arnold Rampersad, the first scholar given complete access to Ellison's papers at the Library of Congress. Rampersad discussed and signed his book, "Ralph Ellison: A Biography," as part of the Books & Beyond author series organized by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The event was co-sponsored by the Library's Manuscript Division. Ellison's story of an unnamed black man in 1940s New York City who struggles to find his identity and place in society won him the National Book Award for fiction and catapulted him to national prominence. Ellison went on to earn many other honors, including two presidential medals and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Yet, his failure to publish a second novel, despite years of striving, haunted him for the rest of his life.

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Library of Congress. Center for the Book, sponsoring body
  • Library of Congress. Manuscript Division, sponsoring body

Created / Published

  • Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2007-05-03.

Headings

  • -  African American History
  • -  Literature
  • -  Biography, History

Notes

  • -  Classification: General Works.
  • -  Classification: History: America.
  • -  Classification: Language and Literature.
  • -  Arnold Rampersad.
  • -  Recorded on 2007-05-03.
  • -  Researchers.
  • -  Teachers.

Medium

  • 1 online resource

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021687838

Online Format

  • video
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Library Of Congress, Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Center For The Book, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Manuscript Division. Ralph Ellison: A Biography. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -05-03, 2007. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687838/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Library Of Congress. Center For The Book, S. B. & Library Of Congress. Manuscript Division, S. B. (2007) Ralph Ellison: A Biography. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -05-03. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687838/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Center For The Book, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. Manuscript Division. Ralph Ellison: A Biography. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -05-03, 2007. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021687838/>.