Juneteenth

Best known as the author of the 1952 American classic Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison didn’t see most of his work published during his lifetime. Juneteenth was published as his second novel, following his death in 1994. Originally spanning over 2,000 pages, Ellison’s literary executor John F. Callahan condensed Juneteenth to 368 pages for publication. Although heavily edited, the jazz impulses that appear in Juneteenth also take center stage in Invisible Man, signifying that it was Ellison and not Callahan who crafted a jazz novel. Both novels outline a search for identity that emulates the bebop improvisational soloist in search of individuality within a chorus of community and tradition.