American - Novelist | 1969 -
My mom's mother was from Virginia, but I don't feel much of a tie. I'm very much anti-South for many, many reasons. Whenever I go down there, people are always looking at me funny, you know.
Colson Whitehead
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Part of any book is establishing the rules at the end of the world. My first book, 'The Intuitionist,' takes place in an alternative world where elevator inspectors are important, so you have to establish rules, and part of that is, How do people talk? How do they behave?
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Each book requires a different kind of treatment and structural gambit.
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Most of my books have always worked through juxtaposition, jumping through different point of views and time.
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'Driving while black' was taught to me at a young age.
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Schools don't teach American history that well, especially a lot of black American history.
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Some books are well-received with critics; other books sell.
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I was sort of a miserable teenager.
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I like to explore different ideas of race, how the concept of race has evolved in the country. It's one thing I enjoy talking about, but I don't feel compelled to talk about it.
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A lot of my books have started with an abstract premise.
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I always try to mix it up with each book - changing tone, changing style keeps the work very vital for me.
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Some people don't like my fiction, because they prefer the nonfiction. But moving around keeps the work fresh for me and, hopefully, for my one or two readers who follow me from book to book!
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