Junot Diaz | Dogpatch Writers Collective

Tag Archives: Junot Diaz

Hello from the Dogpatch!

Noticing a comment online about rereading and rewatching favorite stories, put me in mind of my all-time favorite author appearances caught on video. I’ve watched these clips numerous times and am excited, amused, moved, and inspired at each viewing. I hope you enjoy!

Dagoberto Gilb

“Stupid America”: PEN/Hemingway Award winner Dagoberto Gilb speaking and reading at Librotraficante Caravan Tucson AZ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lFKk1AuJF4

Awesome dramatic readings: A group of actors performing brief text from various works of fiction, including the opening of Dr. Olaf van Schuler’s Brain by Kirsten Menger-Anderson, from Sally Shore’s The New Short Fiction Series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTrQ7-Egqcc

A true classic: Steve Almond on “Africa” by Toto at Tin House Magazine’s 10th Anniversary celebration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3fxkhWZbx0

Steve Almond

You can read Steve’s “Why I Write Smut: A Manifesto” from his latest set of six tiny and gorgeous books called Writs of Passion.

Junot Díaz

Wisdom for us all: Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz díscussing his process at the 2009 National Book Festival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gu91htmDpM

Happy writing,

XO Laurel Leigh

by Dogpatch Writers Collective | December 18, 2012 · 10:43 am

Scene Questions

We all can probably remember a particularly vivid and effective scene from a great story. The unmasking scene in Junot Díaz’s story “Ysrael.” The riot scene in Dagoberto Gilb’s book The Flowers. The opening scene in Mary Karr’s Liars’ Club. The death of Father in Peter Rock’s My Abandonment. Most scenes by Antonya Nelson. The ending of The Grapes of Wrath. Shakespeare’s classic Nunnery Scene. Haven’t we all thought—if I could write a scene like that, it would be a truly spectacular scene.

We came up with some questions to keep in mind as you write, and you can probably think of a lot more.