In one novel, he writes about elevator inspectors who use intuition to assess those mechanical transport machines. In another novel, he intersperses narratives about the history of John Henry with a contemporary story about junketeers, that is, journalists who cover press events.
And look, Colson Whitehead was just getting started.
You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions — a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more.
After the publication of his first 1999 novel The Intuitionist (the one about elevators) and his 2001 novel John Henry Days (the one about junketeers), reviewers and commentators agreed that Whitehead was a notably creative and inventive author to watch.
He confirmed his reputation as a writer capable of devising remarkably original ideas with his next novel, the 2006, Apex Hides the Hurt, which focused on a nomenclature consultant – that’s someone who comes up with catchy names for products.
In 2009, Whitehead published an amusing novel Sag Harbor about black boys with beach houses. Two years later in 2011, he published Zone One, which was his creative take on a zombie novel.
In 2016, Whitehead released what became his most widely known book, The Underground Railroad. The novel is a neo-slave narrative. Always one to include whimsical ideas, Whitehead envisions an actual underground railroad in the narrative. The novel was an Oprah Book club selection, a recipient of the National Book Award for Fiction, and the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
His next novel, in 2019, The Nickel Boys highlights the abuse that took place at a reform school for boys in Florida. The Nickel Boys was also the recipient of a Pulitzer.
In 2021, Whitehead published Harlem Shuffle. It’s a crime novel, set in Harlem, from 1959 to 1964, focusing primarily on a furniture story salesman, who also works, from time to time, as a fencer, you know, someone who knowingly buys and resells stolen goods.
In 2023, Whitehead published a sequel to Harlem Shuffle entitled Crook Manifesto.
Beyond those novels, he published two creative nonfiction books and several essays.
Prolific and wildly creative for nearly 25 years, there’s no wonder why Colson Whitehead has received such a remarkable reception.
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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali.
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This podcast, Remarkable Receptions, is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation. For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.