Colson Whitehead
Encyclopedia
Colson Whitehead is a New York-based novelist. He is best known as the author of the 2001 novel John Henry Days
. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.
. He attended the prestigious preparatory school Trinity
in Manhattan. Whitehead graduated from Harvard College
in 1991.
. While working at the Voice, he began drafting his first novels.
Whitehead has since produced five widely acclaimed book-length works—four novels and a meditation on life in Manhattan in the style of E.B. White's famous essay Here Is New York. The books are 1999's The Intuitionist
, 2001's John Henry Days
, 2003's The Colossus of New York, 2006's Apex Hides the Hurt
, and 2009's Sag Harbor
. Esquire
Magazine named The Intuitionist the best first novel of the year, and GQ called it one of the "novels of the millennium." Novelist John Updike
, reviewing The Intuitionist in The New Yorker
, called Whitehead "ambitious," "scintillating," and "strikingly original," adding, "The young African-American writer to watch may well be a thirty-one-year-old Harvard graduate with the vivid name of Colson Whitehead."
Whitehead's The Intuitionist was nominated as the Common Novel at Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT), a prestigious recognition of Whitehead's literary talents. The Common Novel nomination was part of a long-time tradition at the Institute that included authors like Maya Angelou
, Andre Dubus III
, William Joseph Kennedy, and Anthony Swofford
. Whitehead's visit to Rochester included meeting author/editor, Rebecca Housel
, a former professor at RIT.
Whitehead's non-fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times
, Salon
and The Village Voice
.
John Henry Days
John Henry Days is a 2001 Pulitzer Prize shortlisted novel by African American author Colson Whitehead.John Henry Days is a portrait of America...
. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.
Early life
Whitehead was born in New York City in 1969, and grew up in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He attended the prestigious preparatory school Trinity
Trinity School (New York City)
Trinity School is a private, preparatory, co-educational day school for grades K-12 located in New York City, USA, and a member of both the New York Interschool and the Ivy Preparatory School League...
in Manhattan. Whitehead graduated from Harvard College
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1991.
Career
For two years after leaving college, Whitehead wrote for The Village VoiceThe Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. While working at the Voice, he began drafting his first novels.
Whitehead has since produced five widely acclaimed book-length works—four novels and a meditation on life in Manhattan in the style of E.B. White's famous essay Here Is New York. The books are 1999's The Intuitionist
The Intuitionist
The Intuitionist is a 1999 novel by Colson Whitehead. It falls broadly into speculative fiction.The Intuitionist takes place in a city full of skyscrapers and other buildings requiring vertical transportation in the form of elevators. The time, never identified explicitly, is one when black people...
, 2001's John Henry Days
John Henry Days
John Henry Days is a 2001 Pulitzer Prize shortlisted novel by African American author Colson Whitehead.John Henry Days is a portrait of America...
, 2003's The Colossus of New York, 2006's Apex Hides the Hurt
Apex Hides the Hurt
Apex Hides the Hurt is a 2006 novel by American author Colson Whitehead. The novel follows an unnamed nomenclature consultant who is asked to visit the town of Winthrop, which, rather conveniently for the nomenclature consultant, is considering changing its name...
, and 2009's Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor: A novel
Sag Harbor: A Novel is a 2009 novel by award-winning African American author Colson Whitehead.Sag Harbor takes place in Sag Harbor, a small village in the exclusive Hampton Beaches of New York's Long Island...
. Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
Magazine named The Intuitionist the best first novel of the year, and GQ called it one of the "novels of the millennium." Novelist John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, reviewing The Intuitionist in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, called Whitehead "ambitious," "scintillating," and "strikingly original," adding, "The young African-American writer to watch may well be a thirty-one-year-old Harvard graduate with the vivid name of Colson Whitehead."
Whitehead's The Intuitionist was nominated as the Common Novel at Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
(RIT), a prestigious recognition of Whitehead's literary talents. The Common Novel nomination was part of a long-time tradition at the Institute that included authors like Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
, Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III is an American novelist and writer of short stories. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.-Early life and career:...
, William Joseph Kennedy, and Anthony Swofford
Anthony Swofford
Anthony Swofford is a writer and former United States Marine known for being the author of the book Jarhead, published in 2003, which is primarily based on his accounts of various situations encountered in the first Gulf War. This memoir was the basis of the 2005 movie of the same name, directed...
. Whitehead's visit to Rochester included meeting author/editor, Rebecca Housel
Rebecca Housel
Rebecca Housel is an author/editor listed in the Directory of American Poets and Writers and sponsored member of the National Association of Science Writers by Prevention magazine's Rebecca Skloot and environmental writer, Sharon Levy. Housel is known for her prose in popular culture, philosophy,...
, a former professor at RIT.
Whitehead's non-fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
.
Honors
Whitehead is a 2002 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He received the New York Public Library's 2002 Young Lions Fiction Award as well as a Cullman Fellowship.External links
- Personal site
- On Point - What's in a Name? (interview, 2006-09-04)