Documentary on Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man,
airs on Maryland Public Television

OWINGS MILLS, MD: Published nearly 50 years ago, Ralph Ellison's landmark novel Invisible Man - the brutally honest account of a young Negro's quest for identity in a chaotic society - remains on a par with The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises. But during the turbulent 1960s, black activists rebuked Ellison as an Uncle Tom. "I am a novelist, not an activist," he once said, "but I think that no one who reads what I write or who listens to my lectures can doubt that I am enlisted in the freedom movement."
Draped with a lifetime of honors and awards for Invisible Man, Ellison nonetheless failed to produce his much-anticipated second novel. The American original died a work-in-progress.

On Wednesday, February 20, at 10:00 p.m. on Maryland Public Television, American Masters explores the life and work of this influential author in "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey."

The 90-minute film is punctuated by powerful re-creations of scenes from Invisible Man. Ellison's widow, Fanny, allowed the adaptation of some of the book's memorable scenes, the first time any portion of Invisible Man has been filmed. The dramatic re-creations feature John Amos and Jacques C. Smith.

"Ralph Ellison: An American Journey" offers a glimpse into the childhood forces that shaped both the man and the artist. Born in Oklahoma City, Ralph Waldo Ellison was a precocious child who endured taunts from peers who mocked his name and stammer. As a teenager, he dreamt of becoming a modern-day Renaissance man. Like the jazz musicians he so admired, Ellison began finding and defining his own literary voice in New York. Ensconced in Harlem, he became a protégé of Native Son author Richard Wright, who encouraged him to write reviews and essays for Negro magazines and communist papers.

Though he continued to write after the publication of Invisible Man, Ellison never finished another novel. In 1967, 350 pages of his second novel were destroyed in a fire, a huge setback from which he never recovered. A highlight of "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey" is a reading by Toni Morrison from Juneteenth, a controversial selection culled from 2,000 pages of Ellison's unfinished final manuscript.

The program ends with a simple fact that illustrates the lasting power of Ellison's contribution to Western literature. In 1999, a group of prominent writers and scholars compiled a list of the 100 most influential works of 20th-century fiction and non-fiction. Ellison is the only author to make both lists.

Funding for American Masters is provided in part by Park Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Rosalind P. Walter, Jack Rudin, André Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, and others. The series is produced by New Images Productions, Inc. in association with WNET New York.

Maryland Public Television is a not-for-profit, state-licensed public television station which serves the citizens and communities of Maryland and beyond through a variety of broadcast and nonbroadcast activities.

For more information on other programs airing on Maryland Public Television, visit mpt.org.

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