324 Ralph Ellison | Blocked! (Top 10 Cases of Writer's Block)

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2021

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ralph Waldo Ellison (1913-1994) began life as an infant in Oklahoma City and ended it as one of the most successful and celebrated novelists in the world. And this reputation was largely due to one book, the masterpiece Invisible Man (1952), which transcended the limitations that the American reading public placed on African American writers to become what Time magazine later called "the quintessential American picaresque of the twentieth century." Admired by critics and bought in large numbers by readers around the world, Invisible Man seemed to herald the beginning of a long and promising writing career for Ellison, but unfortunately, that was not to be: for the next forty years, he struggled to publish more fiction, chasing a perfection he could never manage to achieve. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life of Ralph Waldo Ellison, then is joined by Mike Palindrome, the president of the Literature Supporters Club, to discuss Ellison's plight and the top 10 cases of writers block. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to [email protected]. New!!! Looking for an easy to way to buy Jacke a coffee? Now you can at paypal.me/jackewilson. Your generosity is much appreciated! The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and LitHub radio.
0:14.0	He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1913 and lived to be 81 years old.
0:21.1	For the first half of his life, he was a writer in training, making his way through the
0:25.3	world, applying his intelligence to overcome personal hardships and the obstacles that
0:31.3	American society put in the path of a black man with ambition.
0:36.1	For the second half of his life, he lived as one of the most successful and celebrated
0:40.1	African-American novelists of the 20th century.
0:43.4	And in between those two halves was the publication of a single book, only one book.
0:50.5	But that book was a masterpiece.
0:53.2	I'm talking of course about Ralph Ellison and his amazing novel Invisible Man.
0:59.0	We will hear more about that book and his story today, and we're also going to have
1:03.0	Mike Palendrome here for a draft.
1:06.3	Because in addition to the build up to the novel and all the life that went into the
1:10.4	writing of that book, there was a lot of not writing in Ellison's life, or at least
1:15.5	not publishing.
1:17.2	And so we'll use our time with Ellison to set up the draft with Mike, famous instances
1:22.8	of writer's block.
1:24.8	Where does Ellison fit in with writers?
1:27.6	And then where does he fit in with the not writers?
1:31.9	The writers who were blocked that's coming up today on the history of literature.
1:47.2	Okay, here we go, hello, hello.
1:56.0	I'm Jack Wilson, so good of you to join me today, and I'm so glad to be here.
	...

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