Biography
Although Julia Alvarez was born in New York City on March 27, 1950, her family moved to the Dominican Republic shortly after her birth, and it was there that she spent the majority of her childhood. In 1960, when Alvarez was ten years old, her family emigrated to the United States, fleeing the Dominican Republic because of Alvarez's father's involvement with an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Trujillo dictatorship. In New York, Alvarez received her primary education in boarding schools and realized while in high school that she wanted to pursue a career as a writer. In 1967, she began studying at Connecticut College; after two years, she transferred to Middlebury College, where, in 1971, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude. Alvarez also attended Syracuse University, from which she received her M.F.A. in 1975, and Bread Loaf School of English.
In the years since 1975, Alvarez has held various positions. From 1975 until 1978, she served as Poet-in-the-Schools in Kentucky, Delaware, and North Carolina. She has held positions as a professor of creative writing and English at Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts (1979-81), University of Vermont (1981-83), and University of Illinois (1985-88). In 1984, she was the Jenny McKean Moore Visiting Writer at George Washington University. Currently she is a professor of English at Middlebury College, having taught there since 1988.
Major Themes
Having spent the majority of her life in the United States, Alvarez considers herself an American, yet her writing bridges the realms of Latina and American culture. Her stories can often be traced to her Dominican roots, but they are flooded with insights about the human experience. She does not target her writing to a specific ethnic population; rather, she recognizes the similarities among all people and focuses her work in those commonalties. "I am a Dominican, hyphen, American," she comments. "As a fiction writer, I find that the most exciting things happen in the realm of that hyphen--the place where two worlds collide or blend together" (qtd. in Stavans 553). In her writing she strives to uncover the truths of human existence, truths that extend beyond any ethnic or gender barrier. In the words of Susan Miller, Alvarez "experiment[s] with the cross-fertilization of language and cultures" (77). Her works reflect the multiple identity she has assumed as a woman, a Latin American, and an American.
For Alvarez, writing serves several purposes. She says, "I write to find out what I'm thinking. I write to find out who I am. I write to understand things" (qtd. in Requa 2). Her responsibility to the reader lies in the expression of herself, in the sharing of the insights she has gleaned in her life. In an interview, she quotes Chekhov, who says "that the writer's not there to solve the problem, but to state the problem correctly" (qtd. in Requa 2). Alvarez has done a tremendous job of stating the problem in her beautifully written novels. Through the captivating stories of her characters' lives, she unveils such powerful issues as the male chauvinism characteristic of Hispanic families, the role of women under dictatorships, and the misogyny manifested in political structures (Stavans 555). Ilan Stavans describes Alvarez as daring "to turn the novel into a political artifact" (556).
Awards and Honors
Works by Julia Alvarez
Fiction
Poetry
Works about Julia Alvarez
"Alvarez, Julia 1950-." (1997): 4 pages. Online. Contemporary Authors. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available: http://galenet.gale.com/
Miller, Susan. "Family Spats, Urgent Prayer: Fiction: Celebrating the strength of Latinas." Newsweek 17 October, 1994: 77.
Requa, Marny. "The Politics of Fiction." 4 pages. Online. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available: http://www.fronteramag.com/issue5/Alvarez/ Stevens, Ilan. "Las Mariposas." Nation 7 November, 1994: 552-556.
Venegas, Margarita. "Ethnic Roots, love of storytelling fill novels of Julia Alvarez." (21 March 1997): 2 pages. Online. Creative Loafing Online. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available:http://www/creativeloafing.com/savannah/newsstand/ s032297/books.html
Selected Bibliography
"Alvarez, Julia 1950-." (1997): 4 pages. Online. Contemporary Authors. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available: http://galenet.gale.com/
Miller, Susan. "Family Spats, Urgent Prayer: Fiction: Celebrating the strength of Latinas." Newsweek 17 October, 1994: 77.
Requa, Marny. "The Politics of Fiction." 4 pages. Online. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available: http://www.fronteramag.com/issue5/Alvarez/
Stevens, Ilan. "Las Mariposas." Nation 7 November, 1994: 552-556.
Venegas, Margarita. "Ethnic Roots, love of storytelling fill novels of Julia Alvarez." (21 March 1997): 2 pages. Online. Creative Loafing Online. Internet. 3 November 1997. Available:http://www/creativeloafing.com/savannah/newsstand/ s032297/books.html
Related Sites
Author: Susan Walker, Fall 1997 (shwalke@emory.edu)
Links
within this site
Introduction Authors Theorists Terms
& Issues