|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Albert Murray, The Omni-Americans Albert Murray exploded onto the literary scene with The Omni-Americans in 1970. The collection of essays starts with a call for integration, arguing that, "The so-called black and so-called white people of the United States resemble nobody else in the world so much as they resemble each other." He goes on to take a scalpel to all of those who he sees as trying to define a 'blackness' or a 'whiteness' in America. The KKK, the Black Panther's and Black Nationalism, none are spared. With the publishing of The Omni-Americans, Albert Murray quickly became one of the leading thinkers in America. But his path to that point was a long one. He was in his forties when he wrote the book, after a long stint in the military. Murray attended the Tuskegee institute and for a long time had a close friendship with Ralph Ellison. But while Ellison's work faltered after early successes, Murray started late, but was relatively prolific. He later became one of the champions of Blues. . As Duke Ellington wrote, "He is one of the unsquarest people I know.' The book was published right at the height of the Black Power movement. Murray saw the movement as a sham and, significantly, was not afraid to take them on. He writes with such honesty, that many of his opponents were unsure of what to say to him. MORE: Review of Murray in Salon An excellent Q&A with Murray about Ellison, Jazz and writers A selection of is work from Random House |
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||