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    11 Beautiful Junot Díaz Quotes To Live By

    The author spoke at St. Francis College in Brooklyn on April 16 and had some incredible pieces of advice.

    1. "Literature is less involved in giving you answers and more dedicated to giving you insight."

    2. "If you can't see women — half the species — as human, you can't see yourself as human."

    3. "I never hear white writers get asked, 'Do you worry about how you represent white people?'"

    4. "The question isn't ‘Do we have the writers?’ — it's 'Who's deciding who gets rewarded, who gets the power?'"

    5. "The fact that I won the literary lottery or some other writer of color has won the literary lottery, it's not that we're ungrateful ... it's not about the individuals — we have to look at the health of our communities."

    6. "Every time someone gives you a formula for what you should be and what you should do, you should know they're giving you a pair of handcuffs."

    7. "People don't make sense unless you know their world. Don't you know your friends better when you actually hang out at their houses?"

    8. "I'm writing a book. It's not a religion. It's not for everyone."

    9. "I think one always has to be mindful that the thing we think will bring revolution can also bring oppression. I think [things like the internet] are tools; they're not all good and they're not all bad."

    10. "Who a reader decides to identify with and who a reader decides to feel solidarity with is not something that the writer has a hand in."

    11. "The broader you are, the less likely you are to be universal."