Ralph Ellison

A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Ed. by A Yemisi Jimoh, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University)

Dates

Born 1 Mar 1913
Died 1994
Activity 1937-1986

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

African American

Activities

Primary

Editor
Essayist
Journalist
Novelist
Teacher/ Professor

Resources

On 1 March 1913, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, one of the five states that became part of the United States in the twentieth century and the forty-sixth state in the union, Ralph Waldo Ellison was born to Lewis Ellison, a laborer from South Carolina, and Ida Millsap Ellison from Georgia. That Ralph Ellison was born in the former Territory, both Indian and western frontier, will become a significant part of his personality and will contribute a perspective to his writing that, along with his distinctive style, will position him among the great writers of the United States.

On both the maternal and paternal sides of his family Ralph Ellison had grandparents who were enslaved. Alfred Ellison, the writer’s paternal …

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2914 words

Citation: Jimoh, A Yemisi. "Ralph Ellison". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 June 2003; last revised 20 March 2012. [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1420, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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