Alvarez, Julia (1950-…), is a popular American author whose writings explore the immigrant experience and cultural identity. Alvarez grew up in the Dominican Republic, and many of her writings are autobiographical.
Alvarez first earned recognition for her novel How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991). The book consists of 15 connected stories about how the García sisters adjusted to American life after growing up in the Dominican Republic. In the Time of the Butterflies (1994) tells about the Mirabal sisters. Three of the four sisters were killed after visiting their jailed husbands in the last days of the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The sisters were opponents of the Trujillo government. Yo! (1997) centers on the life of Yolanda (Yo) García, a character in Alvarez’s first novel. In the Name of Salomé (2000) is a political novel about Salomé Ureña, a famous Dominican poet, and her daughter. Afterlife (2020) is about a woman who, after the sudden death of her husband, faces crises that require her to weigh the needs of others and of herself.
Alvarez’s poetry has been collected in Homecoming (1984), The Other Side/El Otro Lado (1995), and The Woman I Kept to Myself (2004). Many of her essays were published in Something to Declare (1998). They recount her experiences growing up and developing as a writer. Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA (2007) examines the tradition of celebrating a girl’s 15th birthday in Latin American communities. A Wedding in Haiti (2012) is a nonfiction account of Alvarez’s friendship with a boy from Haiti. Alvarez’s books for young readers include Before We Were Free (2002) and the “Tía Lola” series, including How Tía Lola Learned to Teach (2010).
Alvarez was born on March 27, 1950, in New York City, but grew up in the Dominican Republic. She returned to the United States in 1960 with her family. She received a B.A. degree from Middlebury College in 1971 and an M.F.A. degree from Syracuse University in 1975. Alvarez taught at Middlebury from 1988 to 1998, when she became writer-in-residence there. As writer-in-residence, she acts as a critical reader of student writing, teaches creative writing part time, and acts as an adviser to students.
