Some of my must-read books for #BlackHistoryMonth.
#PercivalEverett: JAMES and The Trees
#JasonMott: Hell of a Book
#ToniMorrison: Beloved
#MauriceCarlosRuffin: We Cast a Shadow
#SolomonNorthup: 12 Years A Slave
#HarrietJacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
#RalphEllison: Invisible Man
#DanzySenna: Colored Television
Today in Labor History April 16, 1994: Ralph Ellison died on this day. Ellison was a member of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for his book, The Invisible Man. He was friends with Langston Hughes and Richard Wright. He became active in the Communist Party, as did many of his peers. But he became disillusioned with them during World War II when he felt they became reformist. He wrote The Invisible Man during this era (published in 1952), in part, as a response their betrayal. But the book also looks at the relationship between black identity and Marxism, the reformism of Booker T. Washington, and issues of individuality and personal identity.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #ralphellison #Harlem #marxism #racism #communism #fiction #literature #books #author #writer #BlackMastadon @bookstadon
*“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.”*
“What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” ― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Disillusionment best describes this book.
Sixth literary classic on this list:
https://www.britannica.com/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written
People and books that helped form who I am today:
#GrahamGreene
#JohnUpdike
#WalkerPercy
#kurtvonnegutjr
#JohnIrving
#RalphEllison
#HermannHesse
#LorenEiseley
#JamesBaldwin
#JohnSteinbeck
#RayBradbury
#FrankHerbert
#StrangerInAStrangeLand
#MalcomX
#KimStanleyRobinson
#JulianJaynes
#SomeTimesAGreatNotion
#WendellBerry
#WhatArePeopleFor
#EdwardAbbey
#DesertSolitaire
#TomRussell
#CarlHiaasen
#MichaelPollan
#BotanyOfDesire
#PattiSmith
#MichaelStipe
#DavidSedaris
#CormacMcCarthy
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” #RalphEllison
#BlackHistoryMatters #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackLivesMatter #BLM #LitStudies
So I have finished Nexus and come away with a more nuanced opinion of Henry Miller. Haven’t read him since I was an undergraduate English major in the 80s. Decided then that his ability to write brilliant sentences couldn’t make up for his misogyny enough for me to waste my time. But, really, his is a more expansive racism and bigotry than I remembered and he is a self-absorbed narcissist to boot. I can’t recommend him in good faith, but it is true that he can turn a phrase and has many worthy ideas to ponder - after living in his head for 20 chapters I need a mental deep cleanse.
Time for an #Introduction.
I’m a #law #professor, advocate, and #author. My nonfiction books include BIG DIRTY MONEY (Viking 2020) about #whitecollarcrime and OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES (Yale Press 2014) about the #globalfinancialcrisis of 2008. I focus on #followthemoney matters— promoting #transparency and opposing #corruption.
I 
#dogs
#coffee
#prufrock
#justice
#equality
#solidarity
#liberty
#reading
#shakespeare
#ToniMorrison
#VirginiaWoolf
#GeorgeEliot
#RalphEllison
