born March 1, 1914, Oklahoma City, Okla., U.S.
died April 16, 1994, New York, N.Y.
U.S. writer.
Ellison studied music at Tuskegee Institute before joining the Federal Writers' Project. He won eminence for his novel Invisible Man (1952); narrated by a nameless young black man, it reflects bitterly on American race relations. It is regarded as among the most distinguished works of American fiction since World War II. He later published two essay collections, Shadow and Act (1964) and Going to the Territory (1986) and lectured and taught widely. In 1999 an edition of his unfinished second novel was published by his literary executor, John Callahan, with the title Juneteenth .