This country wants to live in the illusion that it is tolerant but also wants to be able to practice intolerance. Junot Diaz More Quotes by Junot Diaz More Quotes From Junot Diaz My greatest responsibility is to acknowledge the mistakes and the shortcomings of the country in which I live, to acknowledge my privileges, and to try to make it a better place. Junot Diaz responsibilitymistakecountry It wasn't that I couldn't write. I wrote every day. I actually worked really hard at writing. At my desk by 7 A.M., would work a full eight and more. Scribbled at the dinner table, in bed, on the toilet, on the No. 6 train, at Shea Stadium. I did everything I could. But none of it worked. Junot Diaz eightbedwriting John Carter was also one of our first recognizable superhumans and there is little doubt that his extraordinary physical feats inspired Superman's creators. Remember: before Superman could fly or turn back time, he was nothing less than an earthbound crime-fighting John Carter in tights. Junot Diaz tightsfightingdoubt We get so many people saying short fiction is not economical, that it doesn't sell; but there are so many of us enjoying writing it and reading it. So it's wonderful to be around people who love short fiction too - it's like hanging around with my tribe. Junot Diaz short-lovereadingwriting Travel light. She extended her arms to embrace her house, maybe the whole world. Junot Diaz lighthouseworld Shot at twenty-seven times - what a Dominican number. Junot Diaz seventwentiesnumbers Nothing more exhilarating ... than saving yourself by the simple act of waking. Junot Diaz wakingsavingsimple The only way out is in. Junot Diaz awakeninglifeway When I write, what I long for is not more realism or fiction but more courage. That's what I always find myself short on and what I have to struggle to achieve in order that the work might live. Junot Diaz strugglewritingorder When I was working on 'Drown' - this was way back in the mid-'90s - I had this idea that I wanted to do another collected stories. I wanted to do another book like 'Drown' that focused specifically on infidelity. Junot Diaz infidelitybookideas Success, after all, loves a witness, but failure can't exist without one. Junot Diaz witnessfailuresuccess I write for the people I grew up with. I took extreme pains for my book to not be a native informant. Not: 'This is Dominican food. This is a Spanish word.' I trust my readers, even non-Spanish ones. Junot Diaz painwritingbook Well, when you look at a lot of science fiction novels they're asking questions about power. There are questions about what it means to have power and what are the long-term consequences of power. Junot Diaz fiction-novelsasking-questionsmean 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 writinglonghands We have a whole bunch of young people and a whole bunch of families. Are we going to disrupt these families and tear them apart? Or are we going think, like, listen - these people are here. We’ve got to deal with this reality. We’ve got to extend the franchise. Junot Diaz realitypeoplethinking To an outsider, I just seem like a list of accomplishments. To me, all there is is how often I fail. Junot Diaz outsiderslistsaccomplishment I guess I'm just hopelessly fascinated by the realities that you can assemble out of connected fragments. Junot Diaz fragmentsconnectedreality You really want to know what being an X-Man feels like? Just be a smart bookish boy of color in a contemporary U.S. ghetto. Mamma mia! Like having bat wings or a pair of tentacles growing out of your chest. Junot Diaz ghettosmartboys Privilege does not operate without silence. Junot Diaz privilegesilencedoe The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection. Junot Diaz imperfectiontolerancedifferences
