Ralph Ellison's literary career began in 1937 with the publication of his review of Waters Edward Turpin's "These Low Grounds." Over the next 15 years he published 10 short stories and 37 essays on literary, cultural, and political topics. But when "Invisible Man" was published in 1952, Ellison received immediate acclaim from a wide variety of critics, scholars, and novelists. While his novel emerged as a major work of African American literature, it also engaged the European literary tradition and influenced an entire generation of post-World War II writers. Ellison is now one of the most...