Flying Home and Other Stories

Poetic, lively, and intense: these are the fourteen stories from Flying Home and Other Stories, by Ralph Ellison, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Invisible Man .

In a leather suitcase forgotten under a table, Ralph Ellison, one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, kept a series of unpublished manuscripts. After Ellison's death, his wife, Fanny, presented these writings to John F. Callahan—an editor and close friend of her husband. Thus, six unpublished stories were selected, along with others already published in the press, to compose this anthology , *Flying Home and Other Stories* .

Here are Ellison's earliest short stories, written between 1937 and 1954, in which the author already addresses his favorite theme: the formation of a Black identity in the United States. At the same time, he reveals a particular reality that transcends ordinary life.

In fourteen short stories, readers will discover autobiographical insights from an author who knew how to convey his experiences in literature. A self-proclaimed heir to Ernest Hemingway's raw, poetic style, Ellison moves us with the childlike innocence of "Boy on a Train" and shocks us with the brutality of lynchings in "[A Party in the Park]"—a portrait of the 20th century that still resonates in so many ways.

First published in Brazil, the short stories in "Flying Home and Other Stories" are considered by critics to be the prelude to Ralph Ellison's masterpiece, " Invisible Man ." This edition is translated by André Capilé, a poet, translator, researcher of Afro-diasporic literary productions, and professor of Brazilian literature at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

“Taken together, Ellison’s stories point to his consistent vision of American identity constructed during the fifty-five years of his writing life.” — John F. Callahan, author and literary critic

“Wonderful, prequel to the Invisible Man riffs —and another excellent addition to Ellison’s oeuvre.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Ellison’s stories demonstrate, individually, his commitment to creating and, collectively, the acquired knowledge that later enabled him to build, brick by brick, one of the greatest monuments of American literature.” — Publishers Weekly

“Ellison is a complete novelist, who uses words with great skill, who writes with poetic intensity and immense narrative vigor.” — The New York Times