Dominican-American poet and novelist Julia Alvarez was born in New York City in 1950. Shortly after her birth, Alvarez’s parents returned to their native country, Dominican Republic. Ten years later, the family was forced to flee to the United States because of her father’s involvement in a plot to overthrow the dictator, Trujillo.
Alvarez has been practicing the craft of writing for over fifty years. She has brought a variety of work to readers of all ages, including the novels “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents,” “In the Time of Butterflies” and “Afterlife”; books for younger readers; collections of poetry, and nonfiction. Alvarez has won numerous awards for her work, including the Pura Belpré and Américas Awards for her books for young readers, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. Her latest novel is “The Cemetery of Untold Stories” and she is currently assembling “Visitations,” a collection of poems, to be published in 2025. Alvarez is one of the founders of Border of Lights, a movement to promote peace and collaboration between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
This timeline explores Alvarez’s life and the major milestones in her career.
EARLY LIFE
Julia Alvarez is born in New York City to Dr. Eduardo Alvarez and Julia Tavares Espaillat. She is the second of their four daughters, which include Mauricia, Estela (Tita) and Ana. Three months after Julia's birth, her family moves back to the Dominican Republic, where they live for the next ten years.
The Alvarez family is forced to flee to the United States after her father is linked to a failed plot to overthrow dictator Rafael Trujillo. They settle in Queens, New York.
Alvarez's parents send her to Abbott Academy, a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, where she develops an interest in English literature and poetry.
COLLEGE YEARS
Alvarez attends Connecticut College from 1967 to 1969, where she wins the Benjamin T. Marshall Poetry Prize. She then transfers to Middlebury College, and graduates summa cum laude in 1971. She later receives a Masters of Art degree in creative writing from Syracuse University in 1975.
Alvarez takes three graduate courses towards a Masters in English and American Literature at the prestigious Bread Loaf School of English. In 1983, she becomes the Bread Loaf Scholar in fiction during the Bread Loaf Writers Conference that summer.
Alvarez releases her first published work, a collection of poems titled "The Homecoming."
Alvarez becomes a professor in the English Department of Middlebury College. She teaches beginning and advanced creative writing workshops and a variety of literature courses.
Alvarez marries Bill Eichner, an eye doctor.
FIRST NOVEL
"How the García Girls Lost Their Accents," Alvarez's first novel, is published to critical acclaim. The novel, which is based loosely on Alvarez's own personal life experiences, causes a rift between her and her mother. The novel later wins the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for works that present a multicultural viewpoint.
Alvarez publishes her second novel, "In the Time of the Butterflies." The novel is a fictionalized account of the assassination of the Mirabal sisters, who opposed the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
On October 2, 1995, Alvarez is honored at a gala dinner, hosted by the Dominican American Assistance Fund and the U.S. State Department, as one of six Dominican Americans who have made a significant contribution to the Dominican community in both countries.
ALTA GRACIA
Alvarez and her husband Bill establish a sustainable coffee farm and literary arts center in the Dominican Republic called Alta Gracia.
Alvarez becomes the Writer-in-Residence for the English Department of Middlebury College, a position she holds until 2016.
Alvarez publishes her first children's picture book, "The Secret Footprints," illustrated by Fabian Negrin.
On September 20, 2002, Alvarez is awarded the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Alvarez is awarded the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in Montpelier, Vermont on November 4, 2011. The state's highest arts award is presented to her by Governor Peter Shumlin.
RECEIVING THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF ARTS
On July 28, 2014, Alvarez is awarded 2013 Presidential Medal of the Arts by President Barack Obama, in recognition "for her extraordinary storytelling."
At age 70, Alvarez publishes her first adult novel in 14 years, "Afterlife," about the transition into old age.
"A Cemetary of Untold Stories," Alvarez's seventh fiction novel, is published.
