Junot Díaz at the 2008 Key West Literary Seminar. Photos by Jason Rowan
Junot Díaz reads from his Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), and, in far-ranging comments, addresses the danger inherent in a dominant authorial voice. “No matter how many ruses I use,” Díaz says, “I’m the only one speaking.” He goes on to connect this danger, “the way a story silences other stories,” to the dictatorial regime of Trujillo in his native Dominican Republic, to U.S. militaristic pride, and, on the other hand, to the often-frustrated desire of readers to understand each component of his stories.
From KWLS 2008: New Voices
Podcast: Download (Duration: 40:54 — 18.7MB)
This recording is available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights belong to the author. © 2008 Junot Díaz. Used with permission from Junot Díaz.
