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Shadow and Act
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
17 posts | 3 read | 1 to read
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quote
SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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A common response to the greeting “How ya doing?“ among blacks in Harlem during Ellison's time was often “I'm nowhere, man.“

**Sorry for the quote spam. Last one. Promise.

Butterfinger I'm enjoying them. This one was sad. 5y
SleepyDragon @Butterfinger He lived in troubling times, and didn't see a lot to be positive about. His essays were frank and mostly depressing, but he did have hope for the future. I didn't flag it, but there was also a passage in which he spoke of there some day being a “Negro“ president. 5y
Butterfinger @SleepyDragon ♥️♥️ 5y
21 likes3 comments
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Butterfinger 😢 5y
20 likes1 comment
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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It is always interesting to read what most influenced the influential.

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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Butterfinger I really appreciate this one. Learn from the past. 5y
SleepyDragon @Butterfinger It's so true, as well. We often romanticize our past, and our memory of something is sometimes not how it actually happened. This was the intro to an essay about a famous jazz club in Harlem, btw. 5y
17 likes1 stack add2 comments
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Uh, what?

ETA: He is talking about his novel “Invisible Man.“

Butterfinger Is he talking about Invisible Man? 5y
SleepyDragon @Butterfinger He is! I should edit the post to make that clear. 5y
Butterfinger No, I don't think so. I hate that he didn't know what an impact it was. 5y
SleepyDragon @Butterfinger There were a few passages in which he humbly criticizes his skills as a writer. I think he was the type who was highly critical of himself. I got the impression that he was aware of the impact his writing was having in the present, and he acknowledged his role as a known contemporary “Negro“ writer. I guess he couldn't imagine his historical impact, but I wonder who would? 5y
17 likes4 comments
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Indeed! This goes for everyone, every race, gender, orientation, etc. There is way too many people deciding who someone is without knowing anything at all about them.

19 likes1 comment
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Back to basics.

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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Words matter.

17 likes1 comment
review
SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Pickpick

⭐⭐⭐ (3)

A collection of essays written in the 1940s through the 1960s, this was published in 1966. It was almost like stumbling upon a time capsule. Divided into three sections, Ellison tackles literature, jazz, and American society from the perspective of the "American Negro." Spoiler, not much has improved in this area.

##MtTBRChallenge2020

SleepyDragon I have more quotes to share from this book. Quite a bit of insight and perspective that struck me. Stay tuned. 5y
25 likes1 comment
blurb
SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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So I didn't even make it to 6 hours this past weekend, like I wanted, and I still have about 50 pages left in the tagged book. Oh well. Ended up being a family time weekend, for which I didn't really mind missing out on reading time.
It's turning into a really interesting read. Divided into three sections, the first dealt with lit crit, the second with jazz music. I'm about to read the third section, which includes the title essay. #6B4Monday

blurb
SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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I really want to finish reading this book of essays by March 1st, so I thought I'd play along with #24B4Monday this weekend, except evidently they had it last weekend instead of this weekend. Oh well. So I'm having my own personal #24B4Monday this weekend, I guess. (I never get close, anyway, so it's more like #6B4Monday.) Maybe we should have a readathon for us slow readers who don't have a ton of time for reading. Lol

SleepyDragon Btw, that is not the cover of my copy, but I kind of wish it was. It's the cover that popped up on Bookly. 5y
27 likes1 comment
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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#blackhistorymonth

Sr. Joan said something similar in the last book I read, which was published in April 2019.

Ellison wrote this introduction in 1964.

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SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Texreader 👏🏻 5y
21 likes1 comment
blurb
SleepyDragon
Shadow and Act | Ralph Ellison
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Was looking for our copy of Invisible Man to read along with my friend's book club this month, but I couldn't find it. We purged a lot of books a few years back, and I think it probably was donated back then. I will be on a lookout for a new (to me) copy, but until then, I think I'm going to start this collection of essays I picked up at a library bag sale. It was published in 1966, no ISBN. #Blackhistorymonth #MtTBR #mttbrchallenge2020