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Joel Whitney | |
|---|---|
| Born | U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Co-founder of the Guernica |
Joel Whitney is an American writer, known for his books Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World’s Best Writers (2016) and Flights: Radicals on the Run (2024).[1][2] He is a co-founder of Guernica: A Magazine of Global Arts & Politics.[3]
Early Life and Education
[edit]Whitney earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2002.[4]
Career
[edit]Writing
[edit]Whitney’s book Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World’s Best Writers (OR Books, 2016) details the CIA’s involvement in funding literary magazines, such as The Paris Review, to influence cultural narratives during the Cold War.[5][6] The book uses archival sources to document connections between writers, including Peter Matthiessen and George Plimpton, and CIA-backed initiatives.[7] His later work, Flights: Radicals on the Run (OR Books, 2024), examines artists and activists, including Hollywood Blacklist victims and figures like Frances Stonor Saunders and Rigoberta Menchú, persecuted during the Cold War, linking their stories to Diego Rivera and Malcolm X.
His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Boston Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, Dissent, Salon, NPR, New York Magazine, and The Sun.[8][9] His poetry has been published in The Paris Review, The Nation, and Agni.[10][11] In 2013, Whitney co-authored the TED Talks ebook Minescape with photographer Brett Van Ort, focusing on landmine eradication.[12] He has also written on topics such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the CIA’s influence on Hollywood, including in a 2022 article for The Baffler.[13][14]
Writing
[edit]In 2004, Whitney co-founded Guernica: A Magazine of Global Arts & Politics with Michael Archer, Josh Jones, and Elizabeth Onusko. The online magazine publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reportage, focusing on global perspectives.[15]
Other Professional Activities
[edit]Whitney is a former board member of the Overseas Press Club.[16] He also curates literary programs at Brooklyn Public Library.[17]
Works
[edit]Books
[edit]- Minescape (co-authored with Brett Van Ort, TED Talks ebook, 2013)
- Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World’s Best Writers (OR Books, 2016)
- Lenapehoking : an anthology (Brooklyn Public Library, 2022)
- Flights: Radicals on the Run (OR Books, 2024)
Selected essays
[edit]- "The Making of the Buru Quartet" (The Believer, 2025)[18]
Awards and recognition
[edit]- 2003 Discovery/The Nation Award[19]
- 2013: His essay in Salon was selected as a Notable in Best American Essays[20]
- 2015: His essay in Dissent was selected as a Notable in Best American Essays
- 2017: His essay in The Baffler was selected as a Notable in Best American Essays
- 2017 PEN/Nora Magid Award for Magazine Editing[21]
References
[edit]- ^ "Joel Whitney Talks Finks, His New Book Revealing "How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers"". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Joel Whitney: The CIA's Cold War Literary Influence". scheerpost.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Interview Joel Whitney". bombmagazine.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Crystal Hana Kim '14 Wins PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers". arts.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "On Finks, Who Paid the Piper, and the CIA's Literary Legacy". guernicamag.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "How the CIA Infiltrated the World's Literature". vice.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Exclusive: The Paris Review, the Cold War and the CIA". salon.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Joel Whitney". poetryfoundation.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Joel Whitney". thesunmagazine.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Of Fasting". theparisreview.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Spectral Evidence". agnionline.bu.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "A look at the new TED Book, "Minescape: Waging War Against Land Mines"". blog.ted.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Wounded Knee's Radical Legacy". bostonreview.net. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Our Man in Hollywood". thebaffler.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Review of Joel Whitney's "Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World's Best Writers"". historynewsnetwork.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "dateline WINNERS OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB AWARDS" (PDF). opcofamerica.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Joel Whitney presents Flights: Radicals on the Run, with Amitav Ghosh". bklynlibrary.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "The Making of the Buru Quartet". thebeliever.net. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Discovery/The Nation '03 Prizewinners". thenation.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Joel Whitney". orbooks.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "PEN/Nora Magid Award for Magazine Editing". pen.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.