Commonword Blogs

Some time last year I bought a book called The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Ellison managed to bring the experience of the black man in 40’s America down to one word – Invisible. So says he “I am an invisible Man. No, I am not a spook … I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fibre and liquids – and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me… When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination – indeed, everything and anything except me.”