Latino author works to make literature dangerous again
Latino author works to make literature dangerous again
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AN EXCERPT
An excerpt from the novel "The Protesters Handbook" by Tony Diaz:
"My dad worked in, worked in a field.
I work out, out of fields. I don't care if I have to break in, to gas stations ...
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AN EXCERPT
An excerpt from the novel "The Protesters Handbook" by Tony Diaz:
"My dad worked in, worked in a field.
I work out, out of fields. I don't care if I have to break in, to gas stations to not work in, a field. I will.
No I won't.
I won't break into, a bank.
I would first break into, show biz.
I would first break into, your imagination.
To do so, I work out, exercise for the sake of exercise, the abstract application of force with no immediate or obvious financial gain or to answer a threat.
My work out is my think-in, leisure hours my dad did not have, but that he came to the U.S. so that I could decide what to do with. My think-in dictates my course, which crop, how much per pound, which texts, which intellectual alfalfa will help me game the scale.
My dad's grading scale was a scale. Have you ever held a pound of alfalfa leaves? Imagine plucking it out of the greedy grasp of mother earth, selfish with her bounty, unsure of whether or not she can trust you with it. Then we gobble it up.
I had thrown my graduation ceremony up for grabs and out the window by starting a riot.
I had used my only job interview to pay back Inland Steel for slights against my father when he worked there.
And all this had impressed my beautiful girlfriend enough to finally let me have an interview with her dad, Chicago's only Mexican City Councilman, who she hated, but who she knew was a mover and shaker. And there I was across from a job that was mine to lose.
Finally, America was working the way it was supposed to work."
IF YOU GO
The American Book Review reading series featuring Tony Diaz will begin at noon Thursday in the Alcorn Auditorium at the University of Houston-Victoria. The event is free and open to the public.
Back in 1998, the world wasn't ready for Tony Diaz's first novel, "The Aztec Love God."
Now more than 10 years later, as Diaz prepares to publish his second novel, he hopes the world is ready to catch up.
"'The Aztec Love God' was an experimental comedic book that the world just wasn't ready for," he said. "People feel that the humor of Mexicans, to be funny, has to be like that of Carlos Mencia or George Lopez, or else people don't get it. But I wanted that book to be cutting edge."
His next book, while less experimental, still keeps that edginess that Diaz said is lacking in most literature today. On Thursday, Victorians will be the first to hear excerpts from the new book, "The Protesters Handbook," when Diaz takes the stage as the next speaker for the American Book Review reading series at the University of Houston-Victoria.
Set in Chicago, the book follows the story of a young man getting ready to graduate from college and achieving the American dream for his family. But it's more like the American daydream, Diaz said. Upon realizing that a degree is really just a piece of paper, instead of getting in line for a job, he goes out and tests the city of Chicago to see how far he can get.
"There aren't enough tough guys in literature today. There aren't any of those characters created by the likes of Ernest Hemingway. Now they are all a bunch of wussies," Diaz said. "That's why I wanted to introduce a tough, rugged character with this book. I want to bring edginess back to literature. My goal is to make literature thrilling, exciting and dangerous again."
In addition to his career as an author, Diaz teaches at Houston Community College and serves as faculty adviser to the student newspaper. He is also the founder and head of Nuestra Palabra, a nonprofit organization that supports and encourages emerging Latino writers.
"The heartbreaking thing about literature is that it's all about money and the New York publishing world doesn't know how to reach audiences," Diaz said. "I did some book readings down in The Valley and throughout the entire Valley, there was only one bookstore. But every reading was sold out and all the books were sold out. Publishers are missing audiences, and they are now hurting for the sins of their past. But hopefully we are now stepping toward changing the publishing world."
