Books

New York: Random House, ca. 1965. Later printing. Signed by Ralph Ellison to poet, Professor, and intellectual confidante Michael S. Harper with inscription, "To Michael Harper who has made this here book much better known. With thanks for his insights, Ralph Ellison." Octavo. 439 pp. Illustrated dust jacket with $5.95 price intact. Black and tan boards stamped in white and gray. Jacket chipped with several short tears along edges; general rubbing and scuffing. Boards show light shelfwear. Binding sound. Professor Brown's ownership stamp to front free endpaper; interior unfortunately free of other markings; a Very Good copy. Harper's Dear John, Dear Coltrane was reviewed in Time Magazine in 1970, the same issue to feature Ellison's essay, "What America Would Be Like Without Blacks," and the two authors shared a passion for jazz, literature, and interrogating the American experience. In an interview, Harper clarified that they were not chums, as one did not naturally become chums with Ralph Ellison, though he knew him well enough to note he was a tremendous dancer, his favorite book was Moby Dick, and he was angry with Charlie Parker. Clearly they maintained a correspondence, as Harper is featured in The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison, (Random House, 2019). [Jerry Jazz Musician: "The Ralph Ellison Project: Poet Michael Harper on Ralph Ellison." Retrieved online 11/18/2024].

A novel by Ralph Ellison, published in 1952, Invisible Man addresses many of the social and intellectual issues facing African-Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship between black identity and Marxism, and the reformist racial policies of Booker T. Washington, as well as issues of individuality and personal identity.