Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz captivated not one but two packed audiences as he brought Arlington Reads 2013 to a close with frank, vibrant talk of his life as a writer and immigrant in 21st century America.
In the afternoon, Díaz spoke to Marymount University and Arlington high school students:
That evening, he filled the Central Library Auditorium, inviting members of the overflow crowd to find space on the stage with him:
Díaz, who compared his success to winning a lottery, said the best art can only be created for itself and not as a commodity and he told admiring readers that he is willing to spend years refining an unpublished work if that’s what it deserves.
At Mr. Díaz’s request, his appearances in Arlington were not recorded and will not be available on the Library website. We do have a number of photographs available.
I found the Diaz reading/event fabulous, exactly the kind of thing that hope the library does more of. My only regret is that it was not recorded. I was looking forward to having another opportunity to absorb a bit of his wisdom.
Thank you.
I would like to hear from those who attended the lecture and felt Diaz’ use of profanity throughout his presentation offensive. I am aware that the f—word among his urban literary folks is widely accepted, but was not expecting him to use the word so frequently at a community library lecture.
I was ecstatic to hear Junot Diaz speak and look forward to future library events.