I wrote my first sucio story, as I call them, in 1997. This was always my 'cheater's book,' my book about sucios desgraciados. My plan was to write a book about how people deal with love and loss. Junot Diaz bookcallcheater Change image and share on social
I think the average guy thinks they're pro-woman, just because they think they're a nice guy and someone has told them that they're awesome. But the truth is far from it. Junot Diaz averageawesomeguy Change image and share on social
The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it takes so long for you to work those atrophied muscles - for you to get on parity with what women's representations of men are. Junot Diaz atrophybaselinedude share on social
I wring my hands because I know that as a dude, my privilege, my long-term deficiencies work against me in writing women, no matter how hard I try and how talented I am. Junot Diaz deficiencydudehand Change image and share on social
When I became my masked identity I was this incredible little nerd, but in the real world I had to be this tough kid from the neighborhood. Junot Diaz identityincrediblekid Change image and share on social
Long before the idea of multiculturalism, in public people could say almost anything to you and get away with it. Junot Diaz idealongmulticulturalism Change image and share on social
When I got heartbroken at 20, it just felt like someone had spiraled a football right into my skull. At 40, it feels like someone had driven a 757 right through me. Junot Diaz drivefeltfootball Change image and share on social
Art has a way of confronting us, of reminding us, of engaging us, in what it means to be human, and what it means to be human is to be flawed, is to be contradictory, is to be often weak, and yet despite all of these what we would consider drawbacks, that we're also quite beautiful. Spin is the opposite. Junot Diaz artbeautifulconfront share on social
Artists are not cheerleaders, and we're not the heads of tourism boards. We expose and discuss what is problematic, what is contradictory, what is hurtful and what is silenced in the culture we're in. Junot Diaz artistboardcheerleader Change image and share on social
The Caribbean is such an apocalyptic place, whether it's the decimation of the indigenous populations by the Europeans, whether it's the importation of slaves and their subsequent being worked to death by the millions in many ways, whether it's the immigrant processes which began for many people, new worlds ending their old ones. Junot Diaz apocalypticbegincaribbean share on social