American Literature: Posthumous Works By Ellison, Hemingway Published
June 99
New books by Ralph Ellison and Ernest Hemingway, two of the greatest figures of 20th-century American literature, were planned for release in June and July 1999, despite the fact that both writers have been dead for years. The two posthumous works are among the most highly anticipated publishing events of the year.
The books, Ellison's Juneteenth and Hemingway's True at First Light, were extracted from larger manuscripts left unpublished at the time of the authors' deaths. Their publication has provoked excitement and controversy among loyal readers and reviewers. Some believe 121d33b that everything written by such important literary figures is worthy of scrutiny, while others argue that such releases diminish a writer's body of work and are better left unpublished. It is not uncommon for posthumous works to be published despite an author's specific instructions not to do so.
Ellison's book was the more anticipated of the two. Juneteenth is the long-awaited follow-up to the African American writer's debut novel, Invisible Man (1952), which some critics regard as one of the century's best novels. Its story about an unnamed black man's journey to find his identity remains one of the most acclaimed depictions of the black experience in 20th-century America. Ellison worked for more than 40 years on a book to follow up this achievement, losing a large portion of the manuscript in a 1967 house fire. When he died in 1994 at the age of 80, the novel was unfinished.
Soon after Ellison's death, his friend John F. Callahan was named as literary executor. Callahan, a professor of humanities at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, uncovered some previously unpublished short stories by Ellison and also collected and edited some other writings. But the editor's main task was the more than 1,500 pages of material that Ellison had left behind for his second novel.
Examining the manuscript, Callahan found a sprawling work that Ellison may have eventually intended to publish in three volumes but that was far from finished. Much of the narrative was incomplete, leaving issues unresolved and scenes unconnected. Ellison left no instructions on what was to be done with the manuscript.
It took three years for Callahan to carve out what he felt was the most cohesive story in the manuscript. The book centers on the figures of Adam Sunraider, a United States senator who hides his mixed-race background with racist views and policies, and the black musician and preacher who adopted him as a boy and raised him. Callahan did not write any new material for the book, but he was forced to completely eliminate important characters and narratives when paring Juneteenth down to the final 350-page work.
The book has received mixed reviews, with some critics questioning Callahan's selections and others finding the stitched-together narrative awkward. Still others said the limited scope of the work was far from Ellison's goals for the project. But Callahan's defenders were happy that at least some of the work had finally found an audience after so many years. Callahan has said that a more complete scholar's edition of the work will be published at a later date.
Callahan titled the book Juneteenth after the annual African American freedom celebration of the same name. The June 19 festival commemorates the day in 1865 on which federal troops notified Texas slaves of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. Ellison's book was officially released on June 19, 1999.
True at First Light was scheduled to be published a month later, on July 21, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Hemingway's birth. The book is the latest in a string of novels and autobiographical works that have emerged since the literary icon committed suicide in 1961. These posthumous works include A Moveable Feast (1964), Islands in the Stream (1970), and The Garden of Eden (1986). These books have in general drawn a muted reaction from reviewers, some of whom felt that the writing was unfinished and that Hemingway would never have allowed publication.
True at First Light is a fictional work based on Hemingway's hunting safari to Kenya in 1953 with his fourth wife, Mary. It is a backdrop that Hemingway fans know well: The writer was fascinated by clashes between humans and animals, and he produced many stories and books about hunting, fishing, and bullfighting. But Hemingway apparently was unhappy with the more than 800 pages he wrote for the novel, and by the late 1950s he had abandoned it, according to reports.
The book was resurrected by Patrick Hemingway, the son of Ernest and his second wife, Pauline. As editor, Patrick Hemingway selected about 300 pages worth of material for the published version. Advance reviewers and those who have read the full manuscript voiced some of the same criticisms and concerns that the Ellison critics voiced-that the work does not measure up to the standards of the writing published during Hemingway's life, that it was unfinished and never good enough to be published. Those involved with the book insist that it will be the last full-length Hemingway work to be published.
A Web site called Writing and Resistance has a page on Ellison featuring a biography, bibliography, and selected criticism.
The Papa Page features a variety of information about Hemingway, including photographs, biographical data, and related links. The Ernest Hemingway Campfire Chat is a message board for discussing issues related to the author's life and work.
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