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The Hindu
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Reading Itself is the Comfort: Junot Díaz
Published : Aug 03, 2025 11:04 IST - 8 MINS READ Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey, US, Junot Díaz is the author of four books, including The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Over his career, Díaz has been awarded a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, a Lila Acheson Wallace Reader's Digest Award, the 2002 PEN/Malamud Award, and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Díaz is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a MacArthur fellow, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. As a child, Díaz recalls how he once retrieved free books with a shopping cart, which sparked his initial curiosity and love for literature from an early age. From his childhood influences of reading science fiction and dystopian authors like Richard Adams, Isaac Asimov, and especially John Christopher, Díaz was drawn to works of writers such as Toni Morrison, Octavia E. Butler, and Maxine Hong Kingston, among others, during his college years at Rutgers and Cornell. These authors and the books they wrote for a time of reading and not our age of screens, he says, had an intense focus which is distinct from today's digital age. In this interview, Junot Díaz discusses his lifelong relationship with books and reading that has shaped his journey as an immigrant. He explains why he sees himself as a reader first, reflects on the humanising joy literature has brought him, and how navigating two cultures through books has helped him integrate memory and consciousness into his writing. Edited excerpts: Give us a sense of your relationship with books and reading, given your journey from Santo Domingo to New Jersey, and how your writing is influenced by both Dominican and American cultures? Best answer to that vastness is to hand you my four books (this includes my children's book Islandborn). I do not have any real encompassing sense of the impact of the Dominican Republic and the US on me—only my struggle to understand these impacts which play out in my literature. My brain cannot hold it all but literature—as a technology of consciousness of memory of sentience sapience of experience—can. I am a reader first and foremost, more than I am a writer, which has impacted my production clearly. I'd rather read than write. Such loyalty to the literature ain't done good things to my writing career but it has been a humanising joy to my soul or my humanity. How have your reading tastes and preferences evolved over the years as you navigated your life as an immigrant, a student at Rutgers and Cornell, and later as a writer and professor? One hopes that with age, one's reading tastes broaden and deepens (and that similarly one's intellectual, emotional, and philosophical qualities also). Whether this is true or not in the latter regard, I cannot say. The work must show. But there's no question my reading has become more catholic and more intensely curious the older I've gotten. There are books and writers I would never have tolerated when I was in my 20s that I now find indispensable. George Eliot and Frank Chin, for example. My immigrant self needed maps and codes with which to navigate the world I gained (New Jersey) and the world I lost (Dominican Republic). I needed escapes to deal with my poverty and family madness. Now I have therapy, and I am more rectified to my homelands—past and present. The old gusting holes within my heart no longer run the show as they once did. I will not say that I've transcended my earlier preoccupations—only that they have aged into something less instrumental, more profoundly existential, a richer vintage. Any early reading life memory or influence from your childhood while growing up in the Dominican Republic, or in New Jersey that left a lasting impression on you? I wrote an essay a little while back: about finding a classified ad in the newspaper offering free books and how my young poor self grabbed a shopping cart and went and got those free books and that's how I started my library. I have nephews who won't get off the couch or drop the phone to save their lives (exaggeration but not by much) and yet, here I was eager to push a shopping cart four miles to pick up some old paperbacks in the middle of the summer. That eagerness to be near books still drives my love of reading today and forms the initial velocity that sent my writing into the skies. Also Read | Reading is good when it disturbs you: Amitava Kumar Is there some book or literary figure from your childhood, or something you read after arriving in the US, that made a big impression on you and is close to your heart? I went through many ages and many loves as a young reader. Richard Adams, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton, Lloyd Alexander, John Christopher. Given the time I came up in—the 70s and the 80s—apocalyptic writers had an enormous impact. The Wyndhams of that particular corner of the book world. But it was John Christopher that was dearest to me in those years. I read everything he ever wrote and I'm still trying to equal the power that his Tripods and Sword of the Spirits trilogy had on me. Were there any books or authors that profoundly influenced you during your college years at Rutgers, or at Cornell while you were trying to find your literary voice as a writer of colour in America? Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Maxine Hong Kingston, Salman Rushdie, Edward Rivera, Sandra Cisneros, Samuel R. Delany—these formed the protein chains of my literary DNA. How much they taught me. How I continue to return to their books. These are writers whose books were intensely written for a time of reading and not our age of screens. Writers whose deep deliberations meant everything to me, who understood that resistance to colonial racial oppression begins not with performance or outrage but with humble inventory of one's complicity. College in the early 90s was a joy because this was a time when one could focus, one could read intensely, and when conversation with people was an essential way we continued our conversation with our reading. I learned so much not just from these writers and their works, but from the people around me who were reading these writers at the same time. To pour out one's reaction into another ear and heart is quite different from writing a blog post, and I, for one, was glad I had to process my reading through people. Name some books or authors that you find yourself returning to often. What draws you back to them? Édouard Glissant, Patrick Chamoiseau, Arundhati Roy, Toni Morrison, Natsuo Kirino, J.R.R. Tolkien, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Edwidge Danticat. These are writers whose insights and formal dimensions continue to challenge me as a reader and a writer. These are literary artists who started conversations that I cannot resist joining, but which will never finish. Why precisely? No idea. I could list for pages why these books draw me, and yet never evoke the mysterious gravity that brings and keeps one in a book. Any book(s) that is kind of a comfort read for you: something you keep on your bedside table and read a little before going to bed? I'm an incorrigible reader. Reading itself is the comfort. Are there some books you frequently give away as gifts to friends or family members, that you believe everyone should read? I always give away [books by] Octavia Butler, Edwidge Danticat, and Haruki Murakami. They are writers that enchant both experienced and novice readers alike; they are writers with profound things to say, and they have written a number of very slender, un-intimidating novels. Have you discovered any books or authors later in life that somewhat changed your perspective about life or writing? Say, some underrated writers or authors outside the mainstream, traditional literary canon whose books are not easily available anymore. William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land is disturbing and brilliant, and not enough folks have read it. Not enough folks read Frank Chin's work or Anjana Appachana's. All these writers are unsettling in the truest sense of the word. To discover what I mean one must read them, naturally. Also Read | Social movements influenced me more than any single writer: Banu Mushtaq What are you currently reading? Any recent works—fiction, non-fiction, poetry—that stood out for you? Max Hastings' history of the Korean War. Richard Cowper's The Twilight of Briareus. Elif Shafak's Black Milk. All dynamite for totally different reasons. Recommend some books that have influenced your understanding of the immigrant experience in America, or book(s) that resonated with your sense of identity as a Dominican-American. Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. Edward Rivera's Family Installments. Oscar Hijuelos' Our House in the Last World. Cristina García's Dreaming in Cuban. Gish Jen's Typical American. V.S. Naipaul's The Enigma of Arrival. Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory and Krik? Krak!. These are some of my absolute essentials. Imagine you are hosting a literary dinner party and you can invite only three writers—Dominican, Caribbean, or Latinx, both living or dead. Who would you choose, and why? Gabriel García Márquez, Frantz Fanon, Toni Morrison. As someone of African descent I included members of the African diaspora. I think these writers would have the best time together and would produce the kind of 'good trouble' we all need. Majid Maqbool is an independent journalist and writer based in Kashmir. Bookmarks is a fortnightly column where writers reflect on the books that shaped their ideas, work, and ways of seeing the world.
New York Post
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Son of Pulitzer-winning novelist Michael Chabon charged with rape
The son of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon is facing a felony rape charge for allegedly choking and beating a woman while molesting her, Manhattan prosecutors said. Abraham Chabon, 20, was charged June 12 with second-degree strangulation and first-degree rape earlier in the alleged Jan. 25, 2024 attack, according to a felony complaint unsealed in court. The younger Chabon, a student at NYU, made his second court appearance Wednesday after being arraigned on the charges last week. Abraham Chabon, left, was charged with second-degree strangulation and first-degree rape. Steven Hirsch He is accused of grabbing the victim by the neck, making it difficult for her to breathe, then carried her to a bed where he raped her and 'struck [the victim] repeatedly in the face… causing stupor and loss of vision in one eye,' the complaint said. He arrived at the courthouse with his mother, Israeli-American novelist Ayelet Waldman. His father is a noted American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, whose works include 'Moonglow,' 'Wonder Boys,' The Mysteries of Pittsburgh' and 'Telegraph Avenue.' The 20-year-old is the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Michael Chabon (left). Instagram/ayeletw Chabon won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for his novel, 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.' Michael Chabon was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2012. Abraham Chabon was released after his June 13 arraignment, with Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Kacie Lally setting bail at $45,000 cash or a $150,000 bond.
San Francisco Chronicle
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Isabel Allende's latest strong female protagonist is a S.F. journalist
Bestselling author Isabel Allende has been beloved for decades by millions of passionately loyal readers for her strong female protagonists and epic story lines stretching across the Americas. In novels such as 'The House of the Spirits,' 'Eva Luna,' and more recently, 'Violeta,' indomitable women take center stage and drive dramatic narratives conjured into being with a splash of magic realism by the writer who was born in Peru and raised in Chile. It's no different in Allende's latest book, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle,' which features an adventurous journalist in San Francisco during the late 1800s. Young Emilia is surprisingly intrepid for a female of her time, challenging and vaulting over gender barriers as she moves from writing cheap novels under a male pseudonym to pushing for her real byline — as a woman — to be published above her newspaper articles. Much of Emilia's intellectual curiosity and confidence comes from her stepfather, a Spanish speaking schoolteacher who marries her pregnant mother, a novice Catholic nun abandoned after a romance with a wealthy Chilean aristocrat. Although Allende initially sets her story in the United States, she gradually moves the action to Chile when Emilia persuades a newspaper editor to let her travel to the South American country to help cover Chile's civil war, emphasizing her Spanish language skills. She's dispatched along with fellow newspaper correspondent Eric Whelan, who will focus on the main news while she handles the features. Along with the professional challenge, Emilia wants to learn more about the father she has never known, and herself. Once in Chile, Emilia faces extreme dangers she has never imagined and questions where she came from and where she's going. It's a story likely to be appreciated by the legions of Allende fans who have ensured she's considered the world's most widely read Spanish-language author. Although the Chilean American novelist is fluent in English, and has long lived in Marin County, she writes in her native Spanish and her books are translated. The recipient of Chile's National Literature Prize in 2010, Allende is considered an American literary treasure as well. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2014. Allende previous novel, 'The Wind Knows My Name,' published in 2023, was a departure from her familiar tales featuring strong women. In that book, she braided the stories of two young children traveling alone in different times and places — one during the brewing Holocaust in Europe and the other in modern day Arizona on the border with Mexico. But all of Allende's books, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle' included, have the epic feel of a major Hollywood film, the kind of production that everyone will tell you must be seen on the big screen to be truly appreciated. Reading the book, you can almost see young Emilia on the steamboat headed south to Chile, the land at the foot of the volcanos that holds her roots, and her destiny.
Tatler Asia
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Filipino composer Susie Ibarra gets Pulitzer Prize for Music
This latest win further extends Ibarra's distinguished track record across music, education and environmental activism. As the founder of Susie Ibarra Studio and Habitat Sounds, she operates at the crossroads of acoustic innovation, ecological responsibility and equity. Her works span documenting traditional soundscapes from Indigenous communities, spotlighting the impacts of melting glaciers, and backing educational initiatives such as Joudour Sahara in Morocco. Born and raised in Houston to Filipino parents, Ibarra's musical journey blends Western classical training with the rich traditions of Philippine kulintang. Her career encompasses a diverse range of genres, including avant-garde jazz, opera, electronic music and theatre. Among her many honours are fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program, and United States Artists. NOW READ 3 Filipina creatives are finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize The Odd Corner: Kean Cipriano on why backing up the 'odd creatures' matters in today's OPM industry Unique Salonga: On music, artistry, 'Daisy'
Hamilton Spectator
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Book Review: Isabel Allende's latest strong female protagonist is a journalist
Best-selling author Isabel Allende has been beloved for decades by millions of passionately loyal readers for her strong female protagonists and epic story lines stretching across the Americas. In novels such as 'The House of the Spirits," 'Eva Luna,' and more recently, 'Violeta,' indomitable women take center stage and drive dramatic narratives conjured into being with a splash of magic realism by the writer who was born in Peru and raised in Chile. It's no different in Allende's latest book, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle,' which features an adventurous journalist in San Francisco during the late 1800s. Young Emilia is surprisingly intrepid for a female of her time, challenging and vaulting over gender barriers as she moves from writing cheap novels under a male pseudonym to pushing for her real byline — as a woman — to be published above her newspaper articles. Much of Emilia's intellectual curiosity and confidence comes from her stepfather, a Spanish speaking schoolteacher who marries her pregnant mother, a novice Catholic nun abandoned after a romance with a wealthy Chilean aristocrat. Although Allende initially sets her story in the United States, she gradually moves the action to Chile when Emilia persuades a newspaper editor to let her travel to the South American country to help cover Chile's civil war, emphasizing her Spanish language skills. She's dispatched along with fellow newspaper correspondent Eric Whelan, who will focus on the main news while she handles the features. Along with the professional challenge, Emilia wants to learn more about the father she has never known, and herself. Once in Chile, Emilia faces extreme dangers she has never imagined and questions where she came from and where she's going. It's a story likely to be appreciated by the legions of Allende fans who have ensured she's considered the world's most widely read Spanish-language author. Although the Chilean-American novelist is fluent in English, and has long lived in California, she writes in her native Spanish and her books are translated. The recipient of Chile's National Literature Prize in 2010, Allende is considered an American literary treasure as well. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2014. Allende previous novel, 'The Wind Knows My Name,' published in 2023, was a departure from her familiar tales featuring strong women. In that book, she braided the stories of two young children traveling alone in different times and places – one during the brewing Holocaust in Europe and the other in modern day Arizona on the border with Mexico. But all of Allende's books, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle' included, have the epic feel of a major Hollywood film, the kind of production that everyone will tell you must be seen on the big screen to be truly appreciated. Reading the book, you can almost see young Emilia on the steamboat headed south to Chile, the land at the foot of the volcanos that holds her roots, and her destiny. ___ AP book reviews:
