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 Copy Share Image
It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.… — Junot Díaz Copy Share Image
I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran… — Junot Díaz Copy Share Image
You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own… — Junot Díaz Copy Share Image
