Story Lab: A Writer at Work

An artist's rendition of the final scene in Invisible Man.

This week I looked around on the"Advice for Writers" website. The most interesting thing I found was an interview of Ralph Ellison conducted in 1955. This interview was conducted just two years after Ralph Ellison won the National Book Award for his seminal novel Invisible Man. It was conducted at a cafe in Paris for the eight edition of the enduring Paris Review as part of their "Writers at Work" series. The interview was fascinating for me to read because Invisible Man is one of my favorite books. I first read it in high school, and it had a profound impact on me. I recently re-read it for a class I'm in this semester - "The Harlem Renaissance." 

I was struck by the eloquence of Ellison's answers, although I shouldn't have been surprised, having read him. There was a confidence to the answers he gave as well that really resonates. Overall, I was left with the impression of a man who deeply understood his own work. What he meant by it. Where he thought it fit into American literature in a broader sense. But there was still a sense of mystery to it, even to him. For example, when asked if his novel would be around in twenty years, Ellison was unsure. He said it would depend on if there were "deeper" things going on in the novel beyond its immediate social context. He didn't claim to know whether or not that was true. Of course, it would perhaps be arrogant to claim that it would endure. But at the same time, I was struck by Ellison's humility when discussing the longevity of his work and his own sense of uncertainness about how time would color his work.

I highly recommend giving the interview a read - and if you haven't, you should read Invisible Man as well!