Poets & Writers Theater

"The promise and the danger of a short story is that it can be perfect." At the 2013 New Yorker Festival, Junot Díaz and Karen Russell speak about the unique challenges of writing short stories.

“It is not an easy place out there to have any kinds of critical opinions, even in our so-called flaunted democracies. And encouraging that, encouraging what we call courageous speech...I think that this is a key skill that is something we should invest in.” Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz joins Gill Deacon on CBC Radio to share how he became an activist and teacher in his own right.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz talks about the impact comic books had on him as he was growing up, as well as their cultural and literary significance. His novel The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao (Riverhead Books, 2007) was just named the best novel of the twenty-first century to date by a BBC Culture critics' poll.

“Literature gains its universality by being very specific.” Author Junot Díaz discusses his writing, his fascination with the Dominican Republic and its diaspora, and how specific experiences of characters can reflect the human condition.

“But the real question, or the real point is that, if you’re not lost then you’re at a place someone has already found.” In this 2008 video, Junot Díaz discusses the writing process and the challenges inherent to creating something new.

The New Yorker staff writer Hilton Als spoke with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz about work and inspiration at an event earlier this month at the Strand Book Store in New York City.