Julia Alvarez

Dominican-American poet, novelist, essayist · Dominican Republic · On the map · Writers · Born 1950 · age 76

Julia Alvarez is an American New Formalist poet, novelist, and essayist. She rose to prominence with the novels How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), and Yo! (1997).

Julia Alvarez is read about 145 times a day, in 23 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 108 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2019“Writing is hard work, a huge commitment of time, energy, faith, passion, and there’s nothing shameful in the attempt, even if the work doesn’t end up succeeding.”In their wordsinterview (2019)Read the whole statement

“what I know from experience: that writing is a vocation and a practice over a lifetime, with its ups and downs.”In their wordsinterview (2019)Read the whole statement

2016“Even though they’re that unit of four sisters, they’re also individuals.”In their wordsOn the individual journeys of the female protagonists in How the Garcia Girls Lost Their AccentsRead the whole statement

“I was looking for books and stories and novels that addressed our history in the Americas. And there weren’t that many for young readers.”In their wordsOn the inspiration for writing In the Time of ButterfliesRead the whole statement

“I’m more in the Faulkner tradition. I’m writing my Spanish in English.”In their wordsOn her writing styleRead the whole statement

2013National Medal of ArtsAward2010Américas AwardAwardPura Belpré AwardAward2004Pura Belpré AwardAward2002Américas AwardAward1992PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary AwardAward1950Born27 March 1950

People around Julia

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Media & music

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"Who touches this poem touches a woman"

In their own words 5

Julia Alvarez

5 statements, newest first

Mine was an oral culture, full of storytellers, but reading and writing were not encouraged.
On how she transitioned from an oral to written culture in “Interview with Julia Alvarez” (Chicago Public Library), Own words
History, I was learning, is the story we tell ourselves about what really happened.
On choosing to write In the Time of Butterflies as a fictional rather than biographical work in “Interview with Julia Alvarez” (Chicago, Own words
The pies browned, the pastries puckered / in the cavernous oven I waited to open.
, Own words

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Awards

National Medal of Arts2013

Pura Belpré Award2010

Américas Award2010

Pura Belpré Award2004

Américas Award2002

PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award1992

About this person

Her publications as a poet include Homecoming (1984) and The Woman I Kept to Myself (2004), and as an essayist the autobiographical compilation Something to Declare (1998). She has achieved critical and commercial success on an international scale and many literary critics regard her to be one of the most significant contemporary Latina writers.

Country

Dominican Republic