As a boy, I wanted to be the Peruvian Diego Maradona. Sadly, Peru hasnt made the World Cup since 1982, so I guess I did well to choose something different. Daniel Alarcon More Quotes by Daniel Alarcon More Quotes From Daniel Alarcon The bond between parent and child is chemical, fierce, and inexplicable, even if that parent is a sworn killer. This connection cannot be measured; it at once more subtle and more powerful than science. Daniel Alarcon powerful parent children I like radio because you can do an hour-long interview and then three days later have a finished piece. Daniel Alarcon pieces three long I have to really think hard about how to structure sentences, and do more mapping when I sit down to write, so it does impose a certain discipline, intellectual and linguistic. Daniel Alarcon discipline writing thinking My first and last love will always be fiction. It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night. I love the novel because it's like a love affair. You can just fall into it and keep going, and you never know where it's going to take you. Daniel Alarcon morning night fall I'm a sucker for any band named after a work of literature. Los de Abajo take their name from Mariano Azuela's famous novel 'The Underdogs,' and that says a lot about who they are and the music they make. Daniel Alarcon underdog band names Peru is a country where more than half the people would emigrate if given the chance. Thats half the population that is willing to abandon everything they know for the uncertainty of a life in a foreign land, in another language. Daniel Alarcon land country people When I started writing seriously in high school, English was the language I had at my disposal - my Spanish was domestic, colloquial, and not particularly literary or sophisticated. Daniel Alarcon language writing school Writing an op-ed feels like I'm taking the SAT. It's so hard. It feels like homework. And if it feels like homework, it just doesn't get done. Daniel Alarcon homework done writing For fiction, Im not particularly nationalistic. Im not like the Hugo Chavez of Latin American letters, you know? I want people to read good work. Daniel Alarcon latin people fiction I do feel fortunate to have some knowledge of the great Latin American writers, including some that are probably not that well known in English. Im thinking of Jose Maria Arguedas, whom I read when I was living in Lima, and who really impacted the way I viewed my country. Daniel Alarcon latin country thinking I write 1,000 words a day first thing in the morning but I cannot write 240 characters to describe a piece that I spent six weeks working on with a producer. Daniel Alarcon writing morning character I love to walk through the streets of Jesus Maria and Pueblo Libre. The Spanish colonial buildings are in bright colors, two stories high, with these intricate wooden, windowed balconies. Daniel Alarcon color two jesus I think probably the thing I'm worst at is the most ephemeral stuff, like blogs. I find it really hard to write. And I'm often been asked to write columns for papers in Peru. And I can't. I would die. There's no way I could write a column. Daniel Alarcon paper writing thinking It's true that there are people who live the idea of being an artist, as opposed to the idea of making art. Daniel Alarcon people ideas art I want people to read good work. If I see someone reading a book by Lorrie Moore or Jennifer Egan, I'm psyched. If I see them reading X Latin American Writer Who Sucks, I'm not psyched. But in terms of news, I do think that's important. Daniel Alarcon reading latin book I write in English because I was raised in the States and educated in this language. Daniel Alarcon states language writing Publication in 'The New Yorker' meant everything, and it's no exaggeration to say that it changed my life. Daniel Alarcon publication exaggeration changed At the most basic level, I appreciate writers who have something to say. Daniel Alarcon appreciate levels Radio is the medium that most closely approximates the experience of reading. As a novelist, I find it very exciting to be able to reach people who might not ever pick up one of my books, either because they can't afford it (as is often the case in Latin America), or because they just don't have the habit of reading novels. Daniel Alarcon reading latin book The impact of any particular writer on your own work is hard to discern. Daniel Alarcon hard impact particular
