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Ralph Ellison
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<p>Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, <a href="/facts/Literary_critic/sj0LQGdF">literary critic</a>, and scholar best known for his novel <i><a href="/facts/Invisible_Man/B75bVmXY">Invisible Man</a></i>, which won the <a href="/facts/National_Book_Award/r4NzI66B">National Book Award</a> in 1953. </p><p>Ellison wrote <i><a href="/facts/Shadow_and_Act/P2rq2Xr2">Shadow and Act</a></i> (1964), a collection of political, social, and critical essays, and <i>Going to the Territory</i> (1986). <i><a href="/facts/The_New_York_Times/T9marWVX">The New York Times</a></i> dubbed him "among the gods of America's literary <a href="/facts/Parnassus/rmAEuMLo">Parnassus</a>". </p><p>A posthumous novel, <i><a href="/facts/Juneteenth_(novel)/m68anXvy">Juneteenth</a></i>, was published after being assembled from voluminous notes Ellison left upon his death. </p>