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Julia Alvarez

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, New York, The United States

Website

http://www.juliaalvarez.com/

Twitter

writerjalvarez

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult

Member Since

April 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/julia_alvarez

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Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960 at the age of ten. She is the author of six novels, three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, and eleven books for children and young adults. She has taught and mentored writers in schools and communities across America and, until her retirement in 2016, was a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College. Her work has garnered wide recognition, including a Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the Woman of the Year by Latina magazine, and inclusion in the New York Public Library’s program “The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, from John Donne to Julia ...more

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How do you get inspired to write?

Julia Alvarez Reading, reading, reading. . . I always say if my reading isn’t going well, my writing won’t either. Reading poetry to start the writing day is especi…moreReading, reading, reading. . . I always say if my reading isn’t going well, my writing won’t either. Reading poetry to start the writing day is especially effective for me. If a poet is really good, I feel the mystery stirring in me again, the faith confirmed that language can be used to get hold of what can't be put into words! Then, like that kid who doesn't want to go inside at the end of the day, I want to “stay” in that space that language can create, and the only way to stay there is to write, write, write, losing myself in the writing. (less)

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What are you currently working on?

Julia Alvarez In keeping with Mr. Johnson's commandment, see my advice to aspiring writers, I write every day—or try to. But I don’t know where I’m going till I get…moreIn keeping with Mr. Johnson's commandment, see my advice to aspiring writers, I write every day—or try to. But I don’t know where I’m going till I get there. If I give you a destination or set up the parameters of the work by describing it, I’ve already contained it in my idea of it. So I’m letting myself play and wander and wonder over stories in my family’s past, stories in the past of my native country (Dominican Republic), the narrative ties that bind us all into blood families, nations, human family. That about covers the whole map! Additionally, I’m not just interested in content, but also in how a story can get told in ways that surprise. I remember my astonishment reading Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic and realizing the effectiveness of writing a novel in the first person plural point of view and in small vignettes. More recently, I’ve been dazzled by Colum McCann’s Apeirogon, and its almost Scheherazadian way of telling a story in 1001 small narratives, with "everything" thrown in and, amazingly, everything fits. . .
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Julia Alvarez’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 178,608 ratings · 18,136 reviews · 83 distinct works • Similar authors

	In the Time of the Butterflies 4.15 avg rating — 78,271 ratings — published 1994 — 110 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How the García Girls Lost Their Accents 3.62 avg rating — 32,415 ratings — published 1991 — 75 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Afterlife 3.70 avg rating — 17,997 ratings — published 2020 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cemetery of Untold Stories 3.65 avg rating — 13,144 ratings — published 2024 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Before We Were Free 3.91 avg rating — 9,343 ratings — published 2002 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Yo! 3.83 avg rating — 5,053 ratings — published 1997 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Name of Salome 3.89 avg rating — 4,078 ratings — published 2000 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Return to Sender 3.78 avg rating — 4,034 ratings — published 2009 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Saving the World 3.37 avg rating — 3,041 ratings — published 2006	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay 3.74 avg rating — 1,979 ratings — published 2001 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Julia Alvarez

Tia Lola Stories (4 books)
by

Julia Alvarez (Goodreads Author)

3.77 avg rating — 2,511 ratings

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs annually from September 15 through October 15 in the U.S, we’ve compiled 84 new and...

Polls

November 2019 New School Poll

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, 1951, 160 pages

79 votes, 30.4%

Stoner by John Williams, 1965, 278 pages

63 votes, 24.2%

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, 1985, 352 pages

41 votes, 15.8%

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, 1994, 324 pages

38 votes, 14.6%

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, 1980, 219 pages

28 votes, 10.8%

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, 1989, 518 pages

11 votes, 4.2%

260 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Seasonal Read...: Math Tasks	77	409	Oct 02, 2009 04:19PM
The Seasonal Read...: Hispanic Heritage Month	27	225	Oct 05, 2009 11:10PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Maxi's 50 Books in 1/2 a year	66	465	Dec 30, 2009 04:09AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Lisa's 2009 Reads	106	610	Dec 31, 2009 04:07PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Alex Khype's books 2009	50	428	Jan 09, 2010 08:50PM
The Seasonal Read...: 10.1 - Stormy Weather	18	197	Jul 24, 2010 07:37AM

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