Ralph Ellison (1913–1994)
Invisible Man
New York: Random House, 1952
Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Invisible Man has remained one of the most frequently challenged books since its publication in 1952. An experimental novel that explores identity and racism in America, Invisible Man was awarded the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953. It is also notable as the first book by a Black author to shift away from the genre of protest novels.
The book was briefly pulled from all of the libraries and curricula of a county in North Carolina in 2013, after the parent of an 11th-grade student wrote a lengthy letter protesting its inclusion in an optional summer reading list. The school board reinstated the book a little more than a week later, following extensive press coverage and email campaigns, but the episode nonetheless highlights the extraordinary power that one person can have over the freedom to read.
: Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
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