Editors at Bomb Magazine published a terrific literary exchange between the stellar Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat and the Dominican frontrunner for well-written and finely-crafted fiction, Junot Díaz.

The introduction to the article made a compelling statement, remarking that if Marvel Comics had gotten their hands on Oscar Wao (the lead from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao), then he "would have been a hero." A novel idea... in fact, one might imagine the same might occur if Marvel got its hands on Díaz. However, Díaz would undoubtedly disagree.

Díaz is unlike his paunchy, grief-prone and fantasy-fascinated story lead, but the two are aligned in the way they wield multiple interests and purposes, move through language, and rise to challenges with thought and readiness.

Díaz is grateful, but he remains humble, and his creative license shares station with a certificate in activism and cultural identity. The numerous awards that he's gained (Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur "Genius" Award and many others) are simply "beautiful book covers" in the eyes of the careful and dedicated writer, whose objective is to write about Dominican immigrants in the DR and in NJ, above all else. In an email interview with Latin Post, the writer shared a host of observations, perspectives and opinions, and he also shared that he never expected to win any awards what-so-ever.

"Awards are like beautiful book covers," said Díaz, 45. "They're awesome and attract all sorts of attention and can make you some loot, but in the end, it's the book that really matters. For me, the real reward is that people continue to read me. That's what matters."

The agenda of the writer and the agenda of the novel shouldn't be divided is the message that one might gain from an interaction with Díaz, or his work. Creating pieces that effectively convey authentic attitudes and authentic experiences should feel obligatory and the best way to do that and to create capable writing is by reading, according to Díaz.

"Young artists, I suspect, need less advice and more time with their art. Which is to say, you want to write? Read. One of the challenges that young artists face these days is the instrumental logic of our times; to resist its pernicious, distortional force requires much internal strength and much understanding of one's self," Díaz shared. "Reading helps with that, too. As for my university education, remember: I worked a full-time job while I was at Rutgers. That alters significantly the academic experience. Still, what I learned at Rutgers, from the classes and the experience of being a student, was incalculable. Changed my life. I began the intellectual journey that I am still on now, and encountered some of the most important movements that continue to influence my sense of the world and my actions in it."

The challenge of being Latino in a world of expectations, misinformation, and counterfeit portrayals on the screen can be conquered on the page. Díaz does this by applying genuine nerdiness and bookishness to Oscar Wao, proving that these are not white-only traits; also by addressing masculinity and hypermasculity as it relates to Dominicans.

"It depends on the context, the community, the specific individual and I'm certainly not qualified to speak on anything outside of my universe," said Díaz, who is Dominican-born, but was raised in Parlin, N.J. alongside four siblings. "Nevertheless, in the world I grew up in, there was a connection which I've tried to explore and explode in my art. But there are plenty of white hypermasculine Dominican males and that's something one must always keep in mind-the complexity."

Díaz's complex, individual experience as a Dominican male involves consuming mounds of books, even as a child; apocalyptic films and works among his favorites; and he would later acknowledge the works of Toni Morrison and Sandra Cisneros as templates or prototypes of outstanding fiction. Díaz's individual experience also involves tremendous poverty, unshakable difficulty, and a resistant, estranged father. It involved being a "ghetto nerd supreme: a smart kid in a poor-ass-community," and working his way through school by delivering pool tables, pumping gas, washing dishes, and working at Raritan River Steel, so that he could gain his BA and his MFA. His difficulties in his earlier life laid foundation for present day success. And, while he isn't exploring apocalyptic writing, which he deemed to be his "first real love," he is writing complex characters that he's structured from scratch and invented an entire world for.

"I find my characters difficult to write. My relationship with them has never been simple or easy. I write them as deeply as I can, tear my heart getting them on the page, spend years with them, but I also know that when the book is over, my relationship with them is over. Time for me to let go, and for the reader, whoever she may be, to take over," Díaz said. "But... I feel close to La Inca, in Oscar Wao, because she reminds me of my abuelos. And, I feel close to the Mongoose because she has lived in my dreams for all these years."

The mongoose appeared throughout the The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, acting as guardians for the protagonist's family. Mongooses were pivotal in DR's growing sugar economy because they ate rats. The non-native animal was imported from Asia during the 18th century; permeates an other-world-like quality; and are known for being sociable and cunning. The supernatural creature was the zafa response to the counter-spell the family's fukú. The Mongoose saves Oscar, just as it saved Beli.

The concept of magical realism is frequented throughout the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel; and while Díaz responded, "Ain't working on shit, really," when asked if he had writing in the works, one can imagine that magical realism is a device that's likely to be utilized within future publications... including a science-fiction epic that Díaz is rumored to be working on, tentatively entitled Monstro.

See continuation: Bilingualism, Immigration and Ditching the Golden Road to Assimilation: Junot Díaz Shares His Thoughts on the Status and Culture of Latinos [INTERVIEW] [Part II]

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