Hilton Als
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| Hilton Als | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Hilton Als |
| Birth date | 1960 |
| Birth place | New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, critic, editor |
| Notable works | The Women, White Girls, My Pinup |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Whiting Award |
Hilton Als is an American writer, theatre critic, and staff writer known for his essays on race, gender, sexuality, and performance. He has been a longtime writer and theater critic for The New Yorker and is the author of critically acclaimed books including The Women and White Girls. Als’s work interweaves memoir, criticism, and cultural history, engaging figures across literature, visual art, music, and theatre.
Early life and education
Als was born in New York City in 1960 and raised in the neighborhood of Harlem, with formative experiences in Brooklyn and on visits to Manhattan. He was shaped by family influences including his mother and stepfather during the postwar era in New York, and by local institutions such as St. Luke's and neighborhood theaters. Als attended public schools in New York City and later pursued further study and early professional development connected to literary and theatrical communities in New York University-adjacent cultural scenes and downtown venues like La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Public Theater, and off-Broadway circuits.
Career
Als began his career in the arts writing for publications like The Village Voice and contributing to literary and theatrical outlets connected to the Off-Off-Broadway and Black Arts Movement-influenced scenes. He served as an editor at Village Voice Literary Supplement and was named theater critic and staff writer at The New Yorker, where he succeeded influential critics and worked alongside editors tied to the magazine’s long history of cultural coverage. Als has been affiliated with academic and arts institutions including teaching stints or residencies at Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, and artist residencies with organizations such as MacDowell and Yaddo. He has curated exhibitions and programs at major venues like the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and collaborated with theaters including The Public Theater and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Literary and critical work
Als’s essays and reviews have engaged a wide range of figures in literature and the arts: writers such as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker; playwrights like Lorraine Hansberry, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Kushner; musicians including Nina Simone, David Bowie, Prince, and Aretha Franklin; visual artists such as Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alice Neel, David Hammons, and Glenn Ligon; directors and performers including Alvin Ailey, Pina Bausch, Billie Holiday, and Josephine Baker. His books—My Pinup, The Women, and White Girls—blend memoir with criticism and cultural history, treating subjects ranging from drag and camp aesthetics to the social contexts of Harlem Renaissance figures and contemporary artists. Als has written program essays and catalog texts for museums and galleries, and has contributed to anthologies alongside critics and scholars associated with institutions such as The New School, Barnard College, and The New York Review of Books-adjacent circles.
Themes and style
Als’s work often explores intersections among race, sexuality, gender, and performance, framing narratives through intimate recollection, archival engagement, and close readings of performance and visual art. He examines icons from Black American cultural history including Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, and Marlon Brando alongside contemporary figures like Kanye West, Beyoncé, and Frank Ocean. Stylistically, Als is known for lyricism, associative leaps, and a hybrid form combining criticism and memoir akin to practices practiced by critics and essayists connected to New Journalism and the tradition of writers like James Baldwin and Roland Barthes. He frequently situates individual biographies within broader movements including the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, and late 20th-century queer cultural formations, while engaging institutions such as The New Yorker, The Village Voice, and major museums.
Awards and honors
Als has received numerous honors including the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism (2017), a Whiting Award, and fellowships from organizations such as the MacArthur Foundation-adjacent fellowships, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. He has been awarded prizes and recognitions from theater and literary organizations connected to Obie Awards-circles and has held named professorships and visiting scholar positions at universities including Brown University, Yale University, and Columbia University. His books have been finalists and recipients of major literary awards and have been featured on lists curated by publications like The New York Times Book Review and institutions such as the National Book Critics Circle.
Personal life
Als has lived primarily in New York City and has been active in its literary and performing-arts communities. He has discussed family influences including his mother and stepfather in essays and has written candidly about identity, relationships, and personal history in his books and articles. Als has collaborated with a range of artists and writers across generations, participating in panels and programs at venues like The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and university lecture series at Harvard University and Princeton University.