Ralph Ellison Quotes

A collection of quotes by Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison (1913-1994) was an African-American writer and scholar best known for his novel "Invisible Man" (1952), which explores identity and race in America. Born in Oklahoma City, Ellison studied music and later literature before becoming involved in civil rights issues. He served as an editor for publications like "The Negro Quarterly" and "New Masses" during the Harlem Renaissance and wrote numerous essays and articles on race and culture. "Invisible Man" resonated with readers and critics alike, earning Ellison the National Book Award in 1953. Posthumously, Ellison's unfinished novel "Juneteenth" was published in 1999.

By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed se

By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.

I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or wh

I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now I've tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied

Perhaps everyone loved someone; I didn't now, I couldn't giv

Perhaps everyone loved someone; I didn't now, I couldn't give much thought to love; in order to travel far you had to be detached, and I had the long road back to the campus before me.

The truth is the light and light is the truth.

The truth is the light and light is the truth.

The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingn

The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life.

Education is all a matter of building bridges.

Education is all a matter of building bridges.

There must be possible a fiction which, leaving sociology an

There must be possible a fiction which, leaving sociology and case histories to the scientists, can arrive at the truth about the human condition, here and now, with all the bright magic of the fairy tale.

Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors

Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors, and you choose the ones you want to have as ancestors. You create yourself out of those values.

If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it h

If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it has also the power to blind, imprison, and destroy.

I am an invisible man. I am a man of substance, of flesh and

I am an invisible man. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.