Shannon asked Colson Whitehead:

Did you find it a challenge to immerse yourself in subject matter that is so heartbreaking and horrific? How did you maintain emotional and psychological balance during the research and writing process?

Colson Whitehead It is indeed horrible. The more research I did, the more I realized how much bad stuff I was going to have to put Cora through, to be faithful (as much as I could) to the slave experience. It held me back from starting that first page, but once I got Ajarry's story out, the "prologue," I found the right distance between being engaged and being able to step back as an artist and shape the story.

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Was it a conscious decision to begin The Underground Railroad in a more realistic style and only introduce the fantastical elements later, or did that develop organically as you began writing the novel?

Emanuela asked Colson Whitehead:

I'm from Italy and I honestly never heard about the Underground Railroad before I read of your upcoming novel. What are your expectations and hopes about people's reactions to the book, especially in countries outside the USA?

Suzanne asked Colson Whitehead:

The brutal experiences that Cora endures can seem unrelenting. Did you find that you needed to break away from writing the story to remember and experience the happier side of life? And if you did, what kinds of things did you do?

All answers from Colson Whitehead…

Colson Whitehead

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Did you find it a challenge to immerse yourself in subject matter that is so heartbreaking and horrific? How did you maintain emotional and psychological balance during the research and writing process?

More Answered Questions

Was it a conscious decision to begin The Underground Railroad in a more realistic style and only introduce the fantastical elements later, or did that develop organically as you began writing the novel?

I'm from Italy and I honestly never heard about the Underground Railroad before I read of your upcoming novel. What are your expectations and hopes about people's reactions to the book, especially in countries outside the USA?

The brutal experiences that Cora endures can seem unrelenting. Did you find that you needed to break away from writing the story to remember and experience the happier side of life? And if you did, what kinds of things did you do?

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