Tag Archives: Junot Diaz

Not New York

Posted on January 8, 2014 by wcd2

January 8, 2014 I’m about to head off to Chicago, also about to teach my freshman seminar: “Cities.” Chicago again, New York, San Francisco.   The books are the usual suspects, but not all of them (for San Francisco I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Cities, contemporary poetry, Nineteenth-century literature, Twentieth century literature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Animals in Chicago

Posted on November 6, 2013 by wcd2

November 6, 2013 It seems right that the theme this year for the Chicago Humanities Festival should be “Animals: What Makes us Human.”   This city, after all, used to be called (and maybe is still called) hog butcher for … Continue reading →

Posted in Americas, Animals, Atlantic, Diaspora, Environmentalism, Ethnicity, indigenous communities, Race, Spanish, World history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Junot Diaz, Octavia Butler: Other People’s Books

Posted on March 13, 2013 by wcd2

March 13, 2013 It was 1957 and she was ten.    She had managed to save five dollars, mostly in change,  but still a lot of money.   The public library had been fine up to this point;  now she was … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Contemporary literature, Diaspora, Latino/a literature, Remix, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Melville in the Dominican Republic

Posted on December 14, 2011 by wcd2

December 14, 2011 As far I know, he never set foot there.   But then a physical journey is not always necessary. Junot Diaz is not shy about naming names — The Brief Wondrous Life of  Oscar Wao is almost … Continue reading →

Posted in epic, Global South, Nineteenth-century literature, Spanglish, Translation, world literature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments