Part 1, The Seer and the Seen, Section 8 Summary and Analysis

"Hidden Name and Complex Fate" (public address, 1964). The author begins his address with a brief analysis of the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, whom he credits with offering a seminal definition of the life, craft, and art of the writer. This leads him to discuss the topic of his address, the writer's experience in the United States, and to refer to his choice to deliver his speech not as a Negro writer, but simply as a writer (see "Quotes", p. 146). He refers to the necessity for artists in general, and writers in particular, to master the techniques of their art in order to make personal expression fully possible and engaging, as full a revelation of identity (as individual creator and as human being) as possible. This leads him...