In January of last year, Barack Obama cited Colson Whitehead's novel "The Underground Railroad" as an example of fiction that brought forth underlying truths in ongoing political dialogues. USC’s sixth annual Open Book series — a month-long program that brings prominent authors to campus — started this week with a visit from Whitehead.
Wednesday night's talk followed an introduction of Whitehead's work earlier in the week from series host and creative writing professor Elise Blackwell. Each year, Blackwell reaches out to a diverse collection of authors — both well-known and up-and-coming — in an effort appeal to every member of the Columbia community.
“If they don’t like one book, they might like the next book,” Blackwell said. “I try to get a range of different kinds of books, different kinds of authors, so there will be something for everybody to like.”
And she succeeds. Each year, the series brings in large crowds, all of which gather to hear from popular authors such as Ian McEwan, Jennifer Egan and Anthony Doerr are just a few of the most notable authors to come through Columbia for the series. But the writers are not the only notable attendees of the series; Whitehead’s talk brought out English professor Nikky Finney, a National Book Award winner herself, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Lacy Ford.
“This is what the College of Arts and Sciences are about,” Ford said at the event. “And this evening is a great example of what we do and can do.”
As this year’s opening, Whitehead got the chance to give an hour-long talk, and he used it to discuss his Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel: “The Underground Railroad.” The book reimagines the famous Civil War escape path as a literal underground railroad, as the story follows an escaped slave's path to freedom. Focusing on a pre-Civil War America, Whitehead’s novel is both criticized and praised for its creativity in reimagining history with a fantastical element.
“I do trust that the reader knows the difference between fiction and nonfiction,” Whitehead said. “People have said ‘is that real or fake,’ and they do some more research … I’m glad people have been moved to sort of learn more about the things that have not been taught or covered as well as they should have been.”
Whitehead's approach to the night was an example of what Blackwell strives for Open Book to be about; He allowed a discussion to develop with the audience, and provided a fresh look into the life of a writer and the relationship that begins when someone reads a book.
“Writers typically work in a room by themselves and readers typically read in a room by themselves, and that’s as it should be,” Blackwell said. “But it’s really, really wonderful to sometimes bring those people into the same room and let them interact, and let the writers see how their work has influenced people, and let readers see that writers are just people and books are made by a series of choices.”
The series will continue through April 18 with visits from Cristina García, Anthony Marra and Juan Felipe Herrera respectively. Next Monday, Joshua Jelly-Schapiro will be introducing “King of Cuba,” followed by Cristina Garcia’s visit on Wednesday. All Open Book events will be held in the Capstone Campus Room from 6-7 pm, and will be followed by a signing.