Written between 1937 and 1954 and collected here for the first time, "Flying Home and Other Stories" represents the best of "Invisible Man" author Ralph Ellison's short fiction. There are thirteen pieces, six of which were never published in Ellison's lifetime. Ellison draws on his early experiences--his father's death when he was three; hoboing his way on a freight train to Tuskegee Institute to follow his early dreams if becoming a musician--to create stories that, according to "The Washington Post", "approach the simple elegance of Chekov."

"Flying Home" fulfills Ralph Ellison's desire to publish a short-story collection, but it wasn't until his literary executor, John F. Callahan, discovered a folder marked "Early Stories" in Ellison's apartment after the writer's death that this collection began to take shape. According to Callahan, "Discovery of the half dozen early stories made it possible to put together a volume of Ellison's best published and unpublished freestanding fiction. These stories are early explorations of his lifelong fascination with the complex fate and beautiful absurdity of American identity. In them, a young writer finds his voice and sets about mastering his craft.

Contents:

A Party Down at the Square
Boy on a Train
Mister Toussan
Afternoon
That I Had the Wings
A Coupla Scalped Indians
Hymie's Bull
I Did Not Learn Their Names
A Hard Time Keeping Up
The Black Ball
King of the Bingo Game
In a Strange Country
Flying Home