Read it! It's not to late to read John Henry Days. Check here to find out where to borrow or buy the book.

About Colson Whitehead! Read Colson Whitehead's biography here.

Read more about it! Links to information about Colson Whitehead and John Henry Days on the Web.

About Two Towns: One Book! Read more about the thoughts behind planning this event and the book selection.

Contact us! Call or email the Community Coalition with any questions about the events.

Two Towns: One Book is sponsored by the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, in partnership with the Maplewood and South Orange Public Libraries and Seton Hall University.

Read it!
Available for borrow or purchase at local libraries, and for purchase at Town Book Store, Maplewood Netu Khisa Books and Gifts, South Orange.

Immortalized in folk ballads, John Henry has long been a favorite American hero. According to legend, he was a black laborer for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, a man of superhuman strength and stamina. He proved his mettle in a contest with a steam drill, only to die of exhaustion moments after his triumph. In John Henry Days, Colson Whitehead builds upon this simple tale to create a contrapuntal masterpiece. The narrative revolves around J. Sutter, a young black journalist. Sutter is a "junketeer," a freeloading hack who roams from one publicity event to the next, abusing his expense account and meeting for biweekly sex with a publicist named Monica. It is 1996, and an assignment for a travel Web site takes Sutter to West Virginia for the first annual John Henry Days festival, a celebration of a new U.S. postage stamp honoring John Henry. And there, in a small rural town, the real story of John Henry emerges in graceful counterpoint to Sutter's thoroughly modern adventure.

As Whitehead explores the parallels between the lives of these two men, and between the Industrial Age, which literally killed John Henry, and the Digital Age, which is destroying J. Sutter's soul, he also adds multiple dimensions to the myth of the steel-driving man. John Henry Days is a novel of extraordinary scope and mythic power that juxtaposes history with popular culture, the blatant bigotry of the past with the more insidious racism of the present, and laugh-out-loud humor with unforgettable poignancy.

Get the Reading Group guide provided by Anchor Books at http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/john_henry_days1.asp or at the libraries and bookstores listed on this site.


About Colson Whitehead!
In addition to winning the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, established to honor a novel or short story collection by an American author age 35 or younger, John Henry Days also was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Book Sense 76 pick.

Whitehead's debut novel, The Intuitionist (1998) received widespread and enthusiastic critical praise for its quirky and imaginative writing and its complex allegories of race. Lila Mae Watson is the first black woman to become an elevator inspector. Jealous of her success and flawless record, and suspicious of her inspection methods, a rival group sabotages one of her recently approved elevators.

[the resulting investigation leads to] "a deftly plotted mystery and quest tale that's also a teasing intellectual adventure," - Kirkus Reviews

"the freshest racial allegory since Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye" - Walter Kirn, Time

"Literary reputations may not always rise and fall as predictably as elevators, but if there's any justice in the world of fiction, Colson Whitehead's should be heading toward the upper floors." - New York Times Book Review

"Whitehead's writing is dazzling." - USA Today

The Intuitionist won the Quality Paperback Book Club's New Voices Award and was an Ernest Hemingway/PEN Award for First Fiction finalist in 1999.

Winner of a 2000 Whiting Writers' Award, Whitehead's journalism has appeared in Vibe, Spin, Newsday, and The Village Voice, where he was a television columnist. In October, Whitehead was named a MacArthur Fellow, receiving the prestigious "genius grant" of $500,000. Colson Whitehead was born in New York City and he currently lives in Brooklyn. Mr. Whitehead joined us on November 19, 2002 for a reading and discussion of his book, as part of the Two Towns: One Book activities.


Read more about it!
Read Colson Whitehead’s thoughts about writing John Henry Days at
http://www.powellbooks.com/authors/whitehead.html

Read an essay by Colson Whitehead at
http://www.powellbooks.com/authors/whitehead.html

Read an excerpt of the book at
http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0501/whitehead/excerpt.html

Read the legend of John Henry at
http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/story1.html

Read more about John Henry at
http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/index.html

See the John Henry stamp at
http://www.unicover.com/EA1CAKDD.HTM


About Two Towns: One Book!
The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition has held two successful community forums in which authors of books related to the Coalition's mission have spoken. In preparation for the forums, the community was encouraged to read the books. Over twenty book groups took up the challenge in 1999 and read Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (and other conversations on race) by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. Nearly 600 residents attended the author's forum! Early in 2002, over 350 residents joined us to hear Jane Lazarre discuss her life experiences described in Beyond the Whiteness of Whiteness. Enthused by those outstanding receptions, Eleanor Winslow, a librarian at the Maplewood Public Library contacted the Community Coalition to suggest that we partner in a major undertaking: a community-wide read of a single book The Coalition took up the challenge, setting as its objective: To help build community through the shared experience of reading and discussing a book. The librarians at the South Orange Public Library were equally enthusiastic and quickly signed on! Many months and many, many books later, John Henry Days was announced as the first book for what we hope will become an annual event: Two Towns - One Book.

Two Towns: One Book included ten scheduled events such as book discussions, the author's reading and community forum.

Click on the links to see the list of books suggested and considered by the selection committee, and to view the criteria established for the selection of the book. Many thanks for months of reading, evaluating, planning and working go to the selection committee and those that have assisted in bringing this program to fruition: Jane Rauen, Ellie Winslow, Elaine Clark, Suzie Metz, Natalie Thigpen, Nancy Richardson, William Robinson, Barbara Heisler Williams, Robin Lenz, Dana Longstreet, Jacqueline Murphy, Anselm LeBourne, Meredith Sue Willis, Jim Nathenson, Dawn Williams, James Van Oosting, Roland Bennett.

Do you have an idea for a book for our 2003 read? Would you like to join the committee to work on Two Towns: One Book 2003? Send an email to info@twotowns.org with your interest.

Books Considered              Selection Criteria

Contact Us!
South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race
email: info@twotowns.org
voice: 973-761-6116 EXT. 3
fax: 973-761-1507

About the Community Coalition:
The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving our two towns as communities of choice for all, regardless of race. Our vision is for a community that is truly inclusive and racially integrated – free of segregation in housing patterns and community involvement. through the Community Coalition, residents can participate in a myriad of community-building tasks that contribute to sustained, diverse and robust community appeal.

For more information on our committees visit http://www.twotowns.org/joinus.php3.

To view other upcoming events visit http://www.twotowns.org/news.php3

To make a donation to support events like Two Towns:One Book and other community initiatives, visit http://www.twotowns.org/pledge.php3