Julia Alvarez

Biographical Information  Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American poet, novelist, and essayist. Julia Alvarez was born in 1950 in New York City. When she was three months old, her family moved back to the Dominican Republic. She grew up with her extended family in sufficient comfort to enjoy the services of maids. She spent the first ten years of her childhood in the Dominican Republic until her father's involvement in a political rebellion forced her family to flee the country. As one of the few Latin American students in her Catholic school, Alvarez faced discrimination because of her heritage and was often called a "Spic!" by her classmates. This caused her to turn inward and led to her fascination with literature. She was encouraged by many of her teachers to pursue writing, and from a young age, was certain that this was what she wanted to do with her life. These intermittent exchanges between countries informed her cultural understanding, the basis of many of her works.

Julia is famous for her novel “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents” (1991), In the “Time of the Butterflies” (1994), and “Yo!” (1997). As a poet, her works include "Homecoming" (1984) and "The Woman I Kept to Myself " (2004). As an essayist, she has an autobiography, " Something to Declare " (1998).

Many literary critics regard her to be one of the most significant Latina writers and she has achieved critical and commercial success on an international scale. More information: http://www.juliaalvarez.com/books/

Themes

Alvarez is regarded as one of the most critically and commercially successful Latina writers of her time. Her published works include five novels, a book of essays, four collections of poetry, four children's books, and two works of adolescent fiction. Her books celebrate nature and the detailed rituals of daily life, including domestic chores. Her books portray stories of family life and are often told from the perspective of women. She questions patriarchal privilege and examines issues of exile, assimilation, identity, and the struggle of the lower class in an introspective manner.

Style

Julia Alvarez's ' writing style was very unique. She presents a multicultural viewpoint. She writes novels and stories with no single protagonist but multiple perspectives. She also uses flashbacks and flashes forwards that are not in chronological order. This is a very unusual pattern in writing making Julia Alvarez's special. In addition, Julia always jumps around in terms of genres: writing poetry and children's books and stories and novels and essays. This is because she wrote A Cafecito Story because of her involvement in the farm in the Dominican Republic. Her inspiration for children's books comes from reading picture books with children and adults on the farm.

Critique

Alvarez is cheerful and strict in character. According to Ring, she is a strong-minded woman and reveals herself with her way of speaking. Her reactions in conversation are a reflection of the cultural conflicts she faced at a young age. She also portrays much of her life is in most of her writings. Alvarez revisits a great deal of politics in her novels such as the last days of the Trujillo regime. Alvarez’s novels are like animated autobiographies that involve sassy gossip, multiple viewpoints, and forceful political undercut. Many of Alvarez's works are influenced by her experiences as a Dominican in the United States and focus heavily on issues of assimilation and identity. Her cultural upbringing as both a Dominican and an American is evident in the combination of personal and political tone in her writing. She is known for works that examine cultural expectations of women both in the Dominican Republic and the United States and for rigorous investigations of cultural stereotypes. In recent years, Alvarez has expanded her subject matter with works such as In the Name of Salomé (2000), a novel with Cuban rather than solely Dominican characters and fictionalized versions of historical figures.

Honors & Awards

In 1974, Julia Alvarez received the Lamont Prize from the Academy of American Poets.

In 1986, Julia Alvarez won the first prize in the narrative from the Third Woman Press Award.

In 1991, Julia Alvarez won the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for her book "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents".

In 1998, “Yo!” was selected as a notable book by the American Library Association.

In 2002, Julia Alvarez received the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature.

In 2004, Julia Alvarez won the Belpre Medal in 2004.

In 2009, Julia Alvarez received the Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature award.