Editing Julia Alvarez (section)

{{Short description|American poet, novelist, essayist}}
{{for|the Spanish lawyer|Julia Álvarez Resano}}
{{Not to be confused with|Julián Álvarez}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name         = Julia Alvarez
| image        =Julia Alvarez 3967875650.jpg
| imagesize    =
| caption      = Alvarez in 2009
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|3|27}}
| birth_place  = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| education    =
| alma_mater   = [[Connecticut College]], <br/>[[Syracuse University]], [[Middlebury College]]
| language     = English
| notableworks = ''[[In the Time of the Butterflies]]''<br />''[[How the García Girls Lost Their Accents]]''<br />''Before We Were Free''<br />''A Gift of Gracias''<br />''A Wedding in Haiti''
| spouse       = Bill Eichner (1989–present)<ref name=T5>Trupe 2011, p. 5.</ref>
| relatives    = 
| awards       = [[National Medal of Arts]] (2014)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Palomo |first1=Elvira |title=Julia Álvarez: La literatura ejercita la imaginación y el corazón |url=http://listin.com.do/entretenimiento/2014/8/2/332096/Julia-Alvarez-La-literatura-ejercita-la-imaginacion-y-el-corazon |access-date=August 2, 2014 |agency=[[EFE]] |publisher=[[Listín Diario]] |date=August 2, 2014 |location=Washington,&nbsp;D.&nbsp;C. |language=es}}</ref>
| years_active = 
| signature    =
| website      = {{URL|http://www.juliaalvarez.com}}
| module       = {{Infobox person
| child = yes
}}
| portaldisp   =
}}

'''Julia Alvarez''' (born March 27, 1950) is an American [[New Formalism|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). 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.

Julia Alvarez has also written several books for younger readers. Her first picture book for children was "The Secret Footprints" published in 2002. Alvarez has gone on to write several other books for young readers, including the "Tía Lola" book series.<ref>SiennaMoonfire.com, Sienna Moonfire Designs: “BOOKS: FOR YOUNG READERS OF ALL AGES.” Books for Young Readers of All Ages by Julia Alvarez, www.juliaalvarez.com/young-readers/#footprints.</ref>

Born in [[New York City|New York]], 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. Many of Alvarez's works are influenced by her experiences as a [[Dominican-American]], and focus heavily on issues of immigration, assimilation, and identity. 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.

In addition to her successful writing career, Alvarez is the current [[Artist-in-residence|writer-in-residence]] at [[Middlebury College]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julia Alvarez {{!}} Middlebury College |url=https://www.middlebury.edu/college/people/julia-alvarez |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=www.middlebury.edu |language=en}}</ref>