Julia Alvarez

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.

Works by Julia Alvarez
Fiction
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
In the Time of Butterflies
Yo!

Poetry
Old Age Ain't for Sissies (Editor)
The Housekeeping Book
Homecoming
The Other Side/El Otro Lado