Colson Whitehead

You know, I'm not a zombie hunter or a runaway slave or an elevator inspector. Generally, I enjoy things you have written about in other books. And I do enough research to feel grounded and really eager to start working. And that's when I know I have enough to keep going.

You know, I'm not a zombie hunter or a runaway slave or an elevator inspector. Generally, I enjoy things you have written about in other books. And I do enough research to feel grounded and really eager to start working. And that's when I know I have enough to keep going.

And then like any writer, fiction writer, you know, I use my empathy and imagination, what I know about myself and other people to make it real.

And then like any writer, fiction writer, you know, I use my empathy and imagination, what I know about myself and other people to make it real.

And then like any writer, fiction writer, you know, I use my empathy and imagination, what I know about myself and other people to make it real.

Sure. The idea behind the place was very enlightened. In the mid-19th century, reformers tried to think of how they could prevent juvenile offenders from being criminalized. You don't want to lock them up with adult offenders. So a reform school where you get classes one day and learn a skill the next day, work in a farm – make something, build with your hands, you might be reformed.

Sure. The idea behind the place was very enlightened. In the mid-19th century, reformers tried to think of how they could prevent juvenile offenders from being criminalized. You don't want to lock them up with adult offenders. So a reform school where you get classes one day and learn a skill the next day, work in a farm – make something, build with your hands, you might be reformed.

Sure. The idea behind the place was very enlightened. In the mid-19th century, reformers tried to think of how they could prevent juvenile offenders from being criminalized. You don't want to lock them up with adult offenders. So a reform school where you get classes one day and learn a skill the next day, work in a farm – make something, build with your hands, you might be reformed.

Immediately when the school started opening, there were stories of abuse. It opened in 1900. And in 1903, people were complaining about what was going on. The school was leasing students to local businesses. And the people who were there were all juvenile delinquents. They were orphans and wards of the state. If they had nowhere else to go, they'd put you there.

Immediately when the school started opening, there were stories of abuse. It opened in 1900. And in 1903, people were complaining about what was going on. The school was leasing students to local businesses. And the people who were there were all juvenile delinquents. They were orphans and wards of the state. If they had nowhere else to go, they'd put you there.

Immediately when the school started opening, there were stories of abuse. It opened in 1900. And in 1903, people were complaining about what was going on. The school was leasing students to local businesses. And the people who were there were all juvenile delinquents. They were orphans and wards of the state. If they had nowhere else to go, they'd put you there.

And the charges for the so-called offenders were truancy, graffiti, vandalism, these sort of amorphous quality of life crimes.

And the charges for the so-called offenders were truancy, graffiti, vandalism, these sort of amorphous quality of life crimes.

And the charges for the so-called offenders were truancy, graffiti, vandalism, these sort of amorphous quality of life crimes.

What they used to call broken homes, yeah. And so it was a warehouse for people who had nowhere else to go if you were under 18. Right.

What they used to call broken homes, yeah. And so it was a warehouse for people who had nowhere else to go if you were under 18. Right.

What they used to call broken homes, yeah. And so it was a warehouse for people who had nowhere else to go if you were under 18. Right.

Sure. His name is Elwood Curtis. He's a straight-A student being raised by his grandparents. He has a a job after school, working at a tobacco store, wants to go to college. And he's grown up idolizing Martin Luther King and all the lights of the civil rights movement.

Sure. His name is Elwood Curtis. He's a straight-A student being raised by his grandparents. He has a a job after school, working at a tobacco store, wants to go to college. And he's grown up idolizing Martin Luther King and all the lights of the civil rights movement.

Sure. His name is Elwood Curtis. He's a straight-A student being raised by his grandparents. He has a a job after school, working at a tobacco store, wants to go to college. And he's grown up idolizing Martin Luther King and all the lights of the civil rights movement.