Colson Whitehead on Harlem, Rebirth, and a City That Keeps Changing

In this feature interview, Colson Whitehead discusses Cool Machine—the final Harlem-centered novel in his underworld trilogy—exploring themes of inertia, revival, and reinvention, and how New York itself acts as a living, shifting backdrop. He reflects on writing across decades, the pull of memory and place in Harlem, the influence of migration on his work, the publishing landscape, and what might come next, including a new project examining the country’s political trajectory.