6th Grade Culture Project

Julia Alvarez:  Writer (b. 1950) Julia Alvarez was born in New York City.  When she was three months old, her parents took her home to the Dominican Republic.  The family later returned to America after political dangers intensified.  Julia knew very little English so she listened carefully to each word to learn the language.  Soon she devoured books and made up her own stories.  Julia wanted to become a writer.  She earned her bachelor’s degree at Middlebury College and a master’s degree in fine arts from Syracuse University in 1975.  Later she taught creative writing at several colleges, including Middlebury, before traveling around the country to teach poetry in schools.  In 1991, Julia published her first novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.  Julia has earned several writing awards, fellowships, and grants for her writing.  She lives in Vermont on a small farm with her husband Bill, who raises vegetables.  They also run a sustainable farm-literacy center called Alta Gracia in the Dominican Republic.Marsh, Carole, The Best Book of Hispanic Biographies.,Galopade Interational:  2003 p.16.

Helpful sites:

http://www.juliaalvarez.com/about/

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Alvarez.html

http://www.lasmujeres.com/juliaalvarez/profile.shtml

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0882796.html