Junot Diaz has given a number of presentations across New Jersey; to inquire about availability, scheduling, and pricing, contact Jim Hanks at jim@aragi.net.
Host a book discussion of Junot Diaz's writings. Offer coffee and cookies, or suggest a brown bag lunch.
Show a related movie (some suggestions are listed under with the read-alike resources) and discuss how the setting, plot, or characters are related to those in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Also discuss how some of those things relate to your own lives and communities.
Hold a discussion on The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Discuss not only the books themselves, but how they relate to Oscar Wao, and how they have become part of popular culture. Or, if you have a movie license for The Lord of the Rings movies, show a movie (or all the movies) and have discussions afterward.
Invite a published local author to the library to discuss what it is like to write a novel and how to go about getting it published.
Host a memoir writing program at your library with memoirist or local writer.
Hold a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Have pre-made characters ready for your patrons to use and be ready to explain the game mechanics in a quick and easy to understand way (unlike our hero Oscar). One of the original modules, written by Gary Gygax in 1978 is now free for download, and has been updated using the new rules: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a
Since a lot of Spanish is used in the book, have a Spanish teacher or tutor come in and teach patrons key phrases and words from the book. This could be an independent program or used as a pre-discussion program.
New Jersey Council of the Humanities Horizons Speakers Bureau. http://www.njch.org/speakers.html
The history of the Dominican Republic is vast and varied. Invite a native Dominican, professor, or other expert to share knowledge of Latin American and Hispanic culture, history, and society. (Some of this information is also listed under "Related Websites.")
- Rutgers University - Latin American Studies Program (RULAS) is part of the School of Arts and Sciences: http://www.rulas.rutgers.edu
- Michael Aaron Rockland, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of American Studies. "Ethnicity in America" program examines of how various ethnic groups struggle to become American while simultaneously maintaining their identity and integrity. How the "melting pot" as a metaphor describing American life has been replaced by the "salad bowl" or "the mosaic." Also a look at the extraordinary diversity of the country that has sometimes been called "the United Nations in miniature."
- Ben Sifuentes-Jauregu, Associate Professor of the Department of American Studies.
- Princeton University - Program in Latin American Studies. PLAS has a listing of a wide variety of public programming, which is available on the website: http://www.princeton.edu/plas
- William Paterson University - Latin American and Latino Studies Program: http://www.wpunj.edu/cohss/las
- Octavio De la Suaree, Ph.D., Professor of Languages & Cultures
"Contemporary Latin American 'Boom' Narrative" lecture focuses on contemporary Latin American narrative writers transforming today's literary scene, with emphasis on Isabel Allende, Luisa Valenzuela, Elena Poniatowska, Laura Esquivel and others, with discussion of their various contributions and their influence.
- Richard Stockton College - Latin American & Caribbean Studies (LACS): http://loki.stockton.edu/~greenel/LACS/lacs_homepage.htm
