Diana Diaz. Writer.
Other stuff about me...
I am a fan of the subtly understated and the wildly obvious. And butterscotch.
One of the perks of being a writer is that you can justify almost anything by calling it "research". But the joke's on us, because everything truly is.
At Home on the Road
I grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the '70s and '80s and I wouldn't change that for the world. I'm a first generation, native New Yorker, Nuyorican born to Puerto Rican parents who celebrated my love for reading and writing.
Growing up, my neighborhood was uniquely positioned bordering The Financial District, Chinatown, and Little Italy. We were in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge and we watched the Twin Towers go up. And come down. I spent much of my childhood going on long walks with my father, then my friends, having Chinese pork buns, knishes, and Italian Ices along the way.
During my early teens, the South Street Seaport opened and for most of my friends, it provided their first after-school jobs. It also provided us the opportunity to meet people from all over the globe. I felt very worldly because the world came to me.
As a young adult, I began to travel and soon realized that the only way to be truly worldly is to go out and see the world. For a long time, though, "the world", to me, meant anything outside of NYC. In true New Yorker fashion, I learned to drive in my early twenties and fell in love with road trips. "The world" had its idea of what a New Yorker, a Puerto Rican, a Gen-Xer was. And I realized I had many misconceptions as well. I asked and answered a lot of questions. I became fascinated and amused by our similarities and differences. Whereas I had stories of being stranded on the monkey bars while a loud, enthusiastic puppy barked up at me, someone else had a story of being trapped in a barn when an overly playful pig decided to chase her. I explained what a knish was and I tasted the divinity that is the hush puppy. I fell in love with Cave City, Kentucky, and Pie Town, New Mexico.
Whether I am presenting or participating, I am still newly fascinated by the nuances that define regionalism and all of the other things that unite us and Americans.
So, I guess if I had to tie this into my professional profile, I'd say that if you want a writer to teach, speak, present or produce, I'd be enthusiastically up for the ride.
