So why do I write, torturing myself to put it down? Because in spite of myself I've learned some things. Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labeled "file and forget," and I can neither file nor forget. Nor will certain ideas forget me; they keep filing away at my lethargy, my complacency. Why should I be the one to dream this nightmare?

" In the wake of this disillusion Ellison began writing Invisible Man a novel that was in part his response to the party's betrayal. Writing essays about both the black experience and his love for jazz music Ellison continued to receive major awards for his work.

Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1 1914 – April 16 1994) was an American novelist literary critic scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964) a collection of political social and critical essays and Going to the Territory (1986).