From the Vault: Ralph Ellison\'s Invisible Man, Part Two

This week on From the Vault we continue our celebration of Black History month by presenting the second part of our newest acquisition, a celebrity reading of Ralph Ellison’s landmark novel Invisible Man, produced for radio in 1995 by Roy Hurst and Gloria Mushonga-Roberts. This radio reading breathes new life into the first and only novel published during the life of Ralph Ellison, not only blending celebrity readers such as Lawrence Fishburne, Alfree Woodard, Roscoe Lee Browne, Levar Burton, and Wynton Marsallis, but also utilizing the voice of the average invisible man. This week’s reading is by the late Roscoe Lee Browne.

First, though, we will feature a 1958 reading by Langston Hughes, and hear an insightful and intimate peak into the personal life of one of America’s great poets, novelists, and playwrights.