Junot Diaz was quoted as saying he had to suppress his Dominicanness. Of course, he points out in a piece in Dominican Today that this quote was taken grossly out of context. Who would want to suppress their Dominicanness, in fact? (Not me. And certainly not Junot, who’s stellar Oscar Wao novel is a tribute to Dominican Americans everywhere.)

Diaz notes: “I’m trying my best out here, in a country that thinks all Dominicans are animals or criminals and it would be nice not to be simplified by a Dominican news source. I get that enough from the gringos,” said Diaz in an email received Friday.