- Good evening, everyone.
We're going to get started here.
Most of you probably know me.
I'm Jason Brown.
I've been running the Prose Series for a couple of years.
And tonight, we're very excited to have Junot Díaz with us.
He's graciously agreed to come halfway across the world
just to speak to you guys.
And Junot, it's great for me to see him.
He and I went to graduate school together,
and I haven't got a chance to talk to him in quite a while.
And it's really great to have him here.
However, I'm going to have one of his biggest fans
here in the writing program, PR, do his introduction
in a moment, because PR has been working
on this thing for many weeks now.
I want to say a few thanks, as always,
to the English department, the dean's office, the Poetry
Center, of course, for allowing us to have our readings here
and supporting us so generously.
And I want to mention that Marilynne Robinson will
be coming next September, mid-September.
So put that on your list.
She's a wonderful writer.
I also want to say that after the reading,
there are books for sale and back.
So you can buy Junot books right back there.
And there will be some free food, I think,
in the same vicinity.
After the reading, Junot take just a couple of questions.
So cook up your questions.
Maybe you'll be one of the lucky recipients.
And there's a discussion group led by Linda
for the undergraduates, those of you.
You know who you are.
And it'll be at 6:30 this Wednesday to talk about Junot's
reading in his book.
And he'll be up in that classroom
on the second floor of the Poetry Center of this Wednesday
at 6:30.
So please welcome PR, a fiction writer from our MFA program
and an expert on Junot Díaz.
[APPLAUSE]