An air of hushed anticipation filled Lumina Theater last Wednesday afternoon as students and faculty alike awaited the arrival of one of the great literary gods of the 21st century.

As an older man took his place behind the podium, the audience spoke in hushed tones, wondering what private insight the man would reveal about author Ralph Ellison and his novel, “Invisible Man.”

The man was of average height and build. He had deep olive skin and wore a tailored grey suit and glasses. To the untrained eye, he resembled any other older well-dressed, well-educated baby boomer.

But this was not just any man. It was Arnold Rampersad, internationally acclaimed critic and biographer, a literary god according to Mark Boren, associate professor of English at UNCW.

Before receiving the National Book Award for his biography of Ralph Ellison, Rampersad was already a household name amongst literary circles. His biographies of W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes and Jackie Robinson became the canon for these men and their lives. A MacArthur Foundation fellowship and the 2010 National Humanities Medal from President Obama were merely further affirmation of Rampersad’s talents.

Rampersad’s notability and Ellison expertise granted him a place in UNCW’s “Invisible Man” Residency program, however his lecture was also featured as part of the Buckner Lecture Series, a privately funded program developed by donor Charles F. Green III, in honor of his friend Katherine K. Buckner.

The “Invisible Man” Residency program is comprised of a collection of lectures and workshops hosted in anticipation of Oren Jacoby and Christopher McElroen’s stage adaptation of Ellison’s novel. Jacoby and McElroen are scheduled to finish the script while in residency at UNCW.

Having such an acclaimed man come to speak at UNCW peaked the interest of everyone from English majors to community members interested in reading Ellison’s novel, “Invisible Man.”

“I came to the lecture because we’re reading ‘Invisible Man’ in my introduction to literature class,” said UNCW sophomore Savannah Bryson. “I’m hoping hearing about Ellison will give me greater insight while I read.”

Other students were of the same mind.

“I was going to read ‘Invisible Man’ before the lecture, but I decided that I wanted to get more background before I opened the book,” said Glenn Noble, a senior, before the lecture.

Most students got what they came for. Over the course of Rampersad’s hour and a half lecture, he gave a brief overview of Ellison’s life and illuminated his own views of the novel from the perspective of his biography.

In his formal academic tone, Rampersad spoke of Ellison’s childhood in Oklahoma City.

“(Ellison) had desires to be a Renaissance man,” exclaimed Rampersad early in his lecture. “He wanted to know everything, to excel.”

Most notably, Rampersad went on to say, “Ellison wanted to be a composer…and a great credit to his race.”

Ellison never received nation acclaim for his interests in music. Today he is known only for “Invisible Man.”

“Ellison was the first to admit that he was a poor English student,” said Rampersad. One could almost hear the collectively stifled gasps of the English students in the room. “He thought he was starting out as a writer too late.”

He was in his early twenties at the time.

Despite Ellison’s perceived setbacks, in 1953, he beat out Steinbeck and Hemingway for the National Book Award. “It transformed his life,” said Rampersad.

Perhaps most surprising of all was not an African American man winning the National Book Award, but his inability to ever contribute another.

“Ellison never finished his second novel,” said Rampersad soberly, “Though he worked on it for 41 years.”

As a veteran professor, Arnold Rampersad is practiced in the ways of delivering facts like one might recount a familiar childhood memory. As he stood in front of the assembled students and faculty, he spoke of Ellison’s triumphs and defeats like an old childhood friend.

Rampersad’s quiet attention to detail made his storytelling ability even greater. The author’s keen descriptions are reminiscent of a Dickens’ novel, filled with such luxurious explanations that the audience felt as if they too were vacationing in Vermont alongside Ellison.

This way of writing leads Rampersad’s work to read like a work of fiction.

“There is no biography without imagination,” he said.

However, Rampersad’s attention to detail is obviously not solely borne from figments of his own subconscious. They are portraits generated from years of careful interviews and laborious study.

Why would anyone devote so much time to another person?

In Arnold Rampersad’s words: “He deserves to be written about.”