The Last Archive
Unheard
Jun 4, 2020
This podcast explores the power of voices in history and literature. It delves into Ralph Ellison's journey as he wrote Invisible Man, the challenge of understanding self-creation in America, the issue of evidentiary injustice, and the connection between Black Lives Matter and capturing evidence.
39:18
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Quick takeaways
- The novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison revolutionized American literature by amplifying the voices of black people and challenging traditional notions of evidence.
- The Federal Writers Project recorded oral histories of former slaves, providing valuable evidence of their experiences, although the dynamic between white interviewers and black subjects influenced the information gathered.
Deep dives
Ralph Ellison and the Power of Sound
Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man, was fascinated by sound and its ability to convey knowledge and understanding. He listened to the radio while writing and believed in the importance of capturing voices and oral histories. Ellison's novel explored themes of invisibility and the African-American experience, drawing inspiration from his own life and the stories of others. His work was a blend of literary and historical imagination, challenging traditional notions of what constitutes evidence.
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