Episode notes
Colson Whitehead is one of America’s most acclaimed novelists. He was the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant for his fiction, which includes Apex Hides the Hurt and John Henry Days. His latest novel is Sag Harbor, about the African American beach enclave.
We talk with Whitehead about why he chose to write a coming-of-age novel without any grand revelations – no bodies found in caves, no one hit by cars. We also chat about why he made such a firm turn away from high-concept fiction towards unassuming naturalism, and how he overcame his fear of teenagers and his own teenage years.
In this episode...
Guests
- Colson Whitehead
About the show
Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.
Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.
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