Biography
Julia Alvarez was born in
the United States. Her parents were from the Dominican Republic and she was the
second oldest of three sisters. The family moved back to the Dominican when
Julia was an infant because they preferred the leadership at home to the U.S.A
of the early 50’s. A bad dictatorship took over in the Dominican Republic and
Julia’s father was a part of an underground movement to rid their country of
this man. The family got word that the underground group had been exposed and
would be arrested and possibly killed. They fled immediately, and ten year old
Julia found her dream of living in America and being an American child come
true. Her dream was quickly crushed as the reality of this new harsh world where
minorities and immigrants didn’t fit in became apparent. She was not accepted
at school, and often bullied by other children. She became introverted and
quiet so her father introduced to her libraries. Here she flourished and soaked
in all the information she could get her hands on. Back home she had loved
creating stories, telling stories, and hearing stories. She had grown up in an
oral based culture where stories were told and passed on by word of mouth, but
here they were written. Because she did not understand this language as well,
she was forced to pay special attention to each word, causing and training her
to become a better writer. She began writing, and although she knew that both a
female writer and a Latino writer were unheard of, she didn’t stop. This was
something Julia knew she was meant to do and she was out to achieve success.
Alvarez attended college
and a graduate program in creative writing. She continued writing but knew she
needed to earn a living. Therefore Julia took up teaching and traveled to many
schools teaching poetry in school programs. After years of travel, she decided
to settle down and teach at the high school level, later accepting a tenure
position at Middlebury College. While teaching here she published her first
novel, and her agent connected Alvarez with a small press. The press, Algonquin
Books, was in search of a new voice, something fresh, so they published Julia’s
work. After 20 years of writing, at age 41, Alvarez’s dream of becoming a
writer came true. Julia was now faced with a decision, between teaching and
being a writer for a living. Julia reluctantly gave up her post as a teacher at
Middlebury College. Although she is a full time writer, she is still active at
the college and even teaches a course from time to time. She visits classes,
gives readings, and helps new writers by reading their work. She resides in
Vermont with her husband, Bill Eichner, where they own an eleven acre farm.
They grow all organic vegetables and are very passionate about sustainable
farming. Their newest project was starting a program and building a sustainable
organic farm and school in the DR.
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