And they *won’t* italicize a damn book title! (Or admit that an excerpt from a novel is actually an excerpt from a novel.) (BTW mine, I was told at the time ((1987)) was the first printed instance of the word “fuck” in the magazine. Had to get special permission from “Mr. Shawn.”)
Dude, thank you for fighting the fights so many of us didn't have to. You're the definition of an OG and so many of us have mountains of respect for you. Glad to see you back out there in the New Yorker, too.
andrew youre very kind. those were interesting times. i dont miss the bullshit but i do miss the amount of bookstores we had and the amount of time people had to read.
I can only imagine how things have changed. But I also bet that, in a lot of ways, they've changed for the better for writers of color like us thanks to fighters like you. Also, bro, that anecdote about Drown not selling is so bananas to me, but also so humbling. Thank you for airing it out. Drown was such an inspiration to me, liberating to read, in fact, that I just assumed you must have sold a million copies of it.
Loved this. I remember when I first started reading your work and wondering, "Why does Junot not italicize?" - I loved that you didn't, but I, too, had been socialized to italicize everything but the English. And then I once thought I would write a story where all the English was Italicized, but the Spanish was not. I thought I was being cute. The issue is that many of us who grow up in one language(s) and then are forced to switch to English are brainwashed to believe that it is "better," "more rational," and "more educated." Manic depression of language in my occupied brain. I hear music in Spanish, and tears roll down my cheeks - chorros of lagrimas, Vicente Fernández-style. It comes from somewhere deep inside- I don't even know where, but it creeps up, grabbing my throat and choking me. So, I think many of us live in the italics-faultline waiting to erupt.
A wonderful read, thank you JD for sharing. Interestingly to me, George Saunders also had his breakthrough by publishing in the New Yorker in the pre-Condé Nest era. By my own anecdotal observations, the New Yorker's appetite for risk on publishing new authors is significantly lower today under the current management. George did a cold submission via mail. I really doubt any cold submissions are read today. Nowadays with magazines getting flooded by online submission this sort of random luck feels like an artifact from the past.
By the way I don't mean to imply that JD was simply lucky. He is a very gifted writer that I enjoy reading. I only mean to imply that there are many gifted writers and only a few get the privilege of being published on such a large platform as the New Yorker. Given how many talented writers there are and how few are given the platform, which I would define as luck.
Ah ha! My husband is in Tokyo right now. Do you happen to remember what neighborhood it was in? I'd love to get a wider shot and make it my computer desktop. You are so right about the tiger's touching expression. And about so many things in your essay. Thank you for the wisdom and inspiration.
This seems to be advertisement graffiti that I fotographed in Tokyo. 日本デザイナー学院 seems to translates into Japan Design Academy but I'm not 100 percent sure.
Good on you in your confrontation with The New Yorker. They heard you - they ain't dumb. And when you decided to do this, you hadn't had much exposure to the squid and now that you have had that exposure, you realize what a bold move it was you made. PS - Loved your new story. Your Daddy was an asshole.
stephanie you are so very kind though id say the squid was just as strong then as it is now - it just used different tentacles. and while that dad in the story is an asshole he's a fictional dad. my real dad was worse.
Gracias Junot, for the inspiración I feel when I read your stories. That young and courageous Junot is the non-contaminated you, he is you primal sitting inside.
I believe that younger you is still with you! And I also hope he’s alright :) If not--you thinking about him, and sharing his courage, makes it possible he will be soon.
And they *won’t* italicize a damn book title! (Or admit that an excerpt from a novel is actually an excerpt from a novel.) (BTW mine, I was told at the time ((1987)) was the first printed instance of the word “fuck” in the magazine. Had to get special permission from “Mr. Shawn.”)
michael that is some wildness! and a very big first. bringing em into the 20th century!
No idea. Really sorry.
Dude, thank you for fighting the fights so many of us didn't have to. You're the definition of an OG and so many of us have mountains of respect for you. Glad to see you back out there in the New Yorker, too.
andrew youre very kind. those were interesting times. i dont miss the bullshit but i do miss the amount of bookstores we had and the amount of time people had to read.
I can only imagine how things have changed. But I also bet that, in a lot of ways, they've changed for the better for writers of color like us thanks to fighters like you. Also, bro, that anecdote about Drown not selling is so bananas to me, but also so humbling. Thank you for airing it out. Drown was such an inspiration to me, liberating to read, in fact, that I just assumed you must have sold a million copies of it.
Pioneer. You paved the road and then built a ladder behind you.
I believe that if the young you wasn’t still with you, this story would have vanished beneath the floodwaters of the passing years.
Loved this. I remember when I first started reading your work and wondering, "Why does Junot not italicize?" - I loved that you didn't, but I, too, had been socialized to italicize everything but the English. And then I once thought I would write a story where all the English was Italicized, but the Spanish was not. I thought I was being cute. The issue is that many of us who grow up in one language(s) and then are forced to switch to English are brainwashed to believe that it is "better," "more rational," and "more educated." Manic depression of language in my occupied brain. I hear music in Spanish, and tears roll down my cheeks - chorros of lagrimas, Vicente Fernández-style. It comes from somewhere deep inside- I don't even know where, but it creeps up, grabbing my throat and choking me. So, I think many of us live in the italics-faultline waiting to erupt.
Usted ha hecho con un par de huevos, Junot. Your italics war inspired an article I wrote a few months ago. Although I don't italicize when code-switching, I'm on the fence with longer chunks of dialogue. I'd be really interested in your thoughts on the article since your work inspired it. https://open.substack.com/pub/bornwithoutborders/p/crush-the-english-hegemony-with-a?r=1qf7m9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Respect
Thank you. That’s all I can say. I appreciate this post.
A wonderful read, thank you JD for sharing. Interestingly to me, George Saunders also had his breakthrough by publishing in the New Yorker in the pre-Condé Nest era. By my own anecdotal observations, the New Yorker's appetite for risk on publishing new authors is significantly lower today under the current management. George did a cold submission via mail. I really doubt any cold submissions are read today. Nowadays with magazines getting flooded by online submission this sort of random luck feels like an artifact from the past.
By the way I don't mean to imply that JD was simply lucky. He is a very gifted writer that I enjoy reading. I only mean to imply that there are many gifted writers and only a few get the privilege of being published on such a large platform as the New Yorker. Given how many talented writers there are and how few are given the platform, which I would define as luck.
Ah ha! My husband is in Tokyo right now. Do you happen to remember what neighborhood it was in? I'd love to get a wider shot and make it my computer desktop. You are so right about the tiger's touching expression. And about so many things in your essay. Thank you for the wisdom and inspiration.
Can you please tell us about the inspiring tiger mural? Where is it from? Do you know who the artist is?
This seems to be advertisement graffiti that I fotographed in Tokyo. 日本デザイナー学院 seems to translates into Japan Design Academy but I'm not 100 percent sure.
Good on you in your confrontation with The New Yorker. They heard you - they ain't dumb. And when you decided to do this, you hadn't had much exposure to the squid and now that you have had that exposure, you realize what a bold move it was you made. PS - Loved your new story. Your Daddy was an asshole.
stephanie you are so very kind though id say the squid was just as strong then as it is now - it just used different tentacles. and while that dad in the story is an asshole he's a fictional dad. my real dad was worse.
Whoa!
Gracias Junot, for the inspiración I feel when I read your stories. That young and courageous Junot is the non-contaminated you, he is you primal sitting inside.
That was punk as fuck.
I believe that younger you is still with you! And I also hope he’s alright :) If not--you thinking about him, and sharing his courage, makes it possible he will be soon.