The Invisible Man by Dale Stephanos
And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself. So after years of trying to adopt the opinions of others I finally rebelled. I am an invisible man.
-from Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
When I was in college at the University of Nevada, Reno, in the 1970s I took a class offered by the English Department titled Black American Literature. The professor was Egyptian. There were 12 students in the class, none of us African American. Still, we dug deeply and at the end of the semester were better people for having read and discussed together.
What I most loved from that course was the poetry of Nikki Giovanni, and it was special when she spoke at the university one of my years there (I'd like to think it was that same semester, but am not sure now). My mother enjoyed that evening with me.
My favorite novel from that course was Native Son by Richard Wright, but I certainly appreciated Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
What I most loved from that course was the poetry of Nikki Giovanni, and it was special when she spoke at the university one of my years there (I'd like to think it was that same semester, but am not sure now). My mother enjoyed that evening with me.
My favorite novel from that course was Native Son by Richard Wright, but I certainly appreciated Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
So many authors and books have been added to black American lit since those days. The African American Literature Book Club has a Favorite 100 African American Books of the 20th Century listing at AALBC.com that I bookmarked as soon as I found it. Invisible Man is #8, Native Son is #10, and The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1995 is #42.
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