Junot Diaz, a 2012 MacArthur Fellow, was recently interviewed by Writers’ Institute alum Dmitry Kiper for NBC New York:
Junot Diaz, at the age of 27, became a literary sensation with the publication of his first book, “Drown,” (1996), a collection of short stories. His readers had to wait more than a decade for his second book, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” a novel that won him the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. His third book, “This is How You Lose Her,” a collection of short stories about love, fidelity and heartbreak came out on Sept. 11. He spoke to NBC New York about his life and his new book on the eve of its debut.
Last time we met was in 2008 in your East Harlem apartment, where you were living with your fiancé. (That relationship has since ended and Diaz now lives in West Harlem.) Since then, how do you think you’ve changed most significantly?
I’m gloomier. My friends don’t know this. I get ribbed by my friends for being the most optimistic one. Yeah, I’m sharp-minded and critical, but I’m the one who absolutely refuses to lose his faith in human beings. Read More…
