51成人

Author encourages persistence when following dreams, Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree |

Colson Whitehead, the author of 鈥淭he Underground Railroad,鈥� spoke to members of the community and 51成人 Wednesday, sharing a passage from his book while telling about his rise as an author.

Starting off reading any genre he could as a child, Whitehead said he started small in journalism before moving on to novels, the first of which received a high number of rejections.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I could take it,鈥� Whitehead said. 鈥淚t took so long to make it.鈥�

After sharing stories of his first failed attempts at being published and his own fears of not producing a compelling story that people will like, Whitehead told the audience that he learned to move forward.

鈥淚 want them to learn that it鈥檚 OK to fail,鈥� Whitehead said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to follow your weird ideas.鈥�

Whitehead said after his first failed attempt at being published, he held off on his idea of writing about the Underground Railroad, despite its prominence in his thoughts.

Instead, he wrote several other works to be published.

鈥淓ach time I would finish a book, I鈥檇 go back to my notes, and would think, 鈥業鈥檓 not ready yet,鈥欌�� Whitehead said.

Finally, encouraged by those around him, Whitehead said he started the process of writing, researching, reading the stories of slaves and 鈥渟oaking up the words and details.鈥�

鈥淭he Underground Railroad鈥� has won a Pulitzer Prize, a Carnegie Medal for Fiction, the Heartland Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Hurston/Wright Fiction Award. It also was a New York Times bestseller.

Students at 51成人 read the book as a part of the school鈥檚 IC Connections Summer Common Reading, a requirement for first-year students.

Emily Adams, academic director for the IC Connections program and associate professor of French at IC, said meeting the author and hearing him talk gives a more in depth connection for students.

鈥淚 want them to realize that books are not just old things on the shelf,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淭here are artists involved. To get to meet a novelist like Colson Whitehead is a once in a lifetime opportunity.鈥�

Jacksonville Public Library Director Chris Ashmore said having an author of Whitehead鈥檚 caliber visit the library was great.

鈥淚t is quite amazing for us to bring in an author of this stature,鈥� Ashmore said. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad the community has responded so well.鈥�

For Whitehead, the trip through Illinois and the Midwest has been a great experience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see the places that were a part of the Underground Railroad,鈥� Whitehead said.

For more images, see our .