lor’s degree from Harvard University, where he
studied English and comparative literature. Upon
graduating, Whitehead worked as a freelance jour-
nalist, publishing in Newsday, Spin, and Vibe. He
eventually became a television editor for The Vil-
lage Voice, writing a regular column on popular
and contemporary shows. Whitehead published
two novels, The Intuitionist (1999) and John Henry
Days (2001). In 2002 he was awarded a MacArthur
Genius Award.
In Whitehead’s first novel, The Intuitionist, set in
the pre–Civil Rights era and in a city reminiscent of
New York, the main movers and shakers of the city
are elevator inspectors. In the past-yet-futuristic
world that Whitehead creates, elevator inspectors
understand that “Whoever owns the elevator owns
the new cities.” They attend elevator inspector
school; write theoretical articles for their influential
publication, Lift; and take their membership in the
powerful guild of elevator inspectors very seriously.
The two groups of almost exclusively white men
who are constantly jockeying for power and posi-
tion to control the elevators identify themselves as
either Empiricists or Intuitionists, depending on
their traditional or sensory-based approach to re-
pairing and building elevators.
The narrative also focuses on Lila Mae Wat-
son, a highly intellectual black woman Intuitionist
who is often used as a pawn in the men’s struggles
for power. Seeking to clear her name after being
framed, Lila Mae begins to trace the mysterious
histories of the “black box,” a futuristic plan for el-
evator construction initially conceived by the de-
ceased yet influential elevator theoretician James
Fulton. Lila Mae discovers that Fulton, who had
been “passing” for white, had included coded lan-
guage about race and social progress in his treatises
on elevators. The focus on “uplift” and “elevation”
and the struggle to find answers concerning the
mysterious “black box” resonate with racial and
historical themes within African-American and
American contexts. The complexity of White-
head’s first novel is found in its fragmented sen-
tences, distinctively black conscious narrator, and
fascinating treatment of the social implications of
technology. A stylistically remarkable novel, The
Intuitionist earned Whitehead the Quality Paper-
back Book Club’s New Voices Award in 1999 and
the Whiting Writers’ Award in 2000.
John Henry Days, Whitehead’s second novel, re-
veals the novelist’s keen insight into and critique
of the functions of contemporary popular culture.
Moreover, the numerous characters and large area
of time-space that the novel presents provides
evidence of Whitehead’s capabilities and daring
ambitions as a writer. Utilizing the 130-year-old
legend of John Henry, the black railroad worker
who defeated a steam-powered drill in a tunnel-
drilling contest, Whitehead shows how his main
character, J. Stutter, and several other minor yet
vibrant characters live and work in a society domi-
nated by money, power, technology, and publicity.
As a journalist, J. and his closest associates are
aware of the shallowness and dangers of “the ma-
chine” known as popular culture. For the most
part, they have learned how to survive, going along
with the politics and demands of the computer
and information age. During a trip to West Vir-
ginia for a publicity event to unveil a John Henry
stamp, however, J. begins to reflect on his life and
whether he wants to continue as he always has
or take the John Henry route and go against the
machine. As J. searches for answers, the narrative
takes readers on twists and turns through the lives
of characters such as John Henry, Paul Robeson
(who once played John Henry in a Broadway pro-
duction), various other contributors to the John
Henry myths, and several modern-day figures
who populate the novel. Whitehead’s work is hu-
morous, witty, and original. In 2002, Whitehead’s
John Henry Days received the Young Lions Fiction
Award sponsored by the New York Public Library.
Overall, Whitehead’s work represents continu-
ity—with several added innovations—within the
tradition of African-American literature. For in-
stance, his work draws on black folklore, culture,
and ways of knowing. At the same time, his writing
styles, his insight regarding contemporary popu-
lar culture and new technologies, and his riffs on
the past situate his prose on the cutting edges of
American fiction. As evidenced by the characters
in his two novels, Whitehead seeks to create newWhitehead, Colson 549