Something to Declare : Essays

In 24 autobiographical essays, the author presents her Dominican childhood, her family's immigration to the United States, her college years, writing, marriages, & return trips to her homeland. In her first book of nonfiction, Julia Alvarez takes us behind the scenes and shares the lessons she's learned on her way to becoming an internationally acclaimed novelist. In 1960, when Alvarez was ten years old, her family fled the Dominican Republic. Her father participated in a failed coup attempt against the dictator Rafael Trujillo, and exile to the United States was the only way to save his life. The family settled in New York City, where Dr. Alvarez set up a medical practice in the Bronx while his wife and four daughters set about the business of assimilation--a lifelong struggle. Loss of her native land, language, culture, and extended family formed the thematic basis for two of Julia Alvarez's three best-selling novels--How The García Girls Lost Their Accents and its sequel, Yo! Her father's revolutionary ties inspired In The Time Of The Butterflies, her historical novel about one of Trujillo's most infamous atrocities. Something To Declare offers an extraordinary collection of essays that deal with the two big issues of Alvarez's life--growing up with one foot in each culture and writing. The twelve essays that make up "Customs," the first of two parts, examine the specific effects of exile on this writer. The essays are personal--how her maternal grandfather passed along his love of the arts, how the nuclear family-in-exile snuggled down every year to watch the Miss America contest from the parental bed, how Julia feared her family might disown her upon publication of her first novel. In the second half, "Declarations," are twelve essays about writing that range from confession of Alvarez's means of supporting her writing habit to the gritty details of her actual process. Every one of these essays is warm, open, honest, and generous. Something To Declare will appeal not only to her many fans, but to students of writing at all levels In 24 autobiographical essays, the author presents her Dominican childhood, her family's immigration to the United States, her college years, writing, marriages, & return trips to her homeland. In her first book of nonfiction, Julia Alvarez takes us behind the scenes and shares the lessons she's learned on her way to becoming an internationally acclaimed novelist. In 1960, when Alvarez was ten years old, her family fled the Dominican Republic. Her father participated in a failed coup attempt against the dictator Rafael Trujillo, and exile to the United States was the only way to save his life. The family settled in New York City, where Dr. Alvarez set up a medical practice in the Bronx while his wife and four daughters set about the business of assimilation--a lifelong struggle. Loss of her native land, language, culture, and extended family formed the thematic basis for two of Julia Alvarez's three best-selling novels--How The García Girls Lost Their Accents and its sequel, Yo! Her father's revolutionary ties inspired In The Time Of The Butterflies, her historical novel about one of Trujillo's most infamous atrocities. Something To Declare offers an extraordinary collection of essays that deal with the two big issues of Alvarez's life--growing up with one foot in each culture and writing. The twelve essays that make up "Customs," the first of two parts, examine the specific effects of exile on this writer. The essays are personal--how her maternal grandfather passed along his love of the arts, how the nuclear family-in-exile snuggled down every year to watch the Miss America contest from the parental bed, how Julia feared her family might disown her upon publication of her first novel. In the second half, "Declarations," are twelve essays about writing that range from confession of Alvarez's means of supporting her writing habit to the gritty details of her actual process. Every one of these essays is warm, open, honest, and generous. Something To Declare will appeal not only to her many fans, but to students of writing at all levels “Julia Alvarez has suitcases full of history (public and private), trunks full of insights into what it means to be a Latina in the United States, bags full of literary wisdom.” —Los Angeles Times From the internationally acclaimed author of the bestselling novels In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents comes a rich and revealing work of nonfiction capturing the life and mind of an artist as she knits together the dual themes of coming to America and becoming a writer. The twenty-four confessional, evocative essays that make up Something to Declare are divided into two parts. “Customs” includes Alvarez's memories of her family's life in the Dominican Republic, fleeing from Trujillo's dictatorship, and arriving in America when she was ten years old. She examines the effects of exile--surviving the shock of New York City life; yearning to fit in; training her tongue (and her mind) to speak English; and watching the Miss America pageant for clues about American-style beauty. The second half, “Declarations,” celebrates her passion for words and the writing life. She lets us watch as she struggles with her art--searching for a subject for her next novel, confronting her characters, facing her family's anger when she invades their privacy, reflecting on the writers who influenced her, and continually honing her craft. The winner of the National Medal of Arts for her extraordinary storytelling, Julia Alvarez here offers essays that are an inspiring gift to readers and writers everywhere.“This beautiful collection of essays... traces a process of personal reconciliation with insight, humor, and quiet power.” —San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle “Reading Julia Alvarez's new collection of essays is like curling up with a glass of wine in one hand and the phone in the other, listening to a bighearted, wisecracking friend share the hard-earned wisdom about family, identity, and the art of writing.” —PeopleJulia Alvarez's new novel, Afterlife, is available now. In her first book of nonfiction, Julia Alvarez offers two dozen personal essays about the two major (and interlocking) issues of her life - growing up with one foot in each of two cultures, and writing. In 1960, when Alvarez was ten years old, her father's participation in a failed coup attempt against Rafael Trujillo, the repressive dictator of the Dominican Republic, resulted in the family's self-imposed exile to New York City, where Dr. Alvarez set up a medical practice in the Bronx while his wife and four daughters set about the serious business of assimilation. That uprooting formed the thematic basis for two of Julia Alvarez's novels. Her father's revolutionary ties inspired the third, the story of one of Trujillo's most infamous atrocities. Something to Declare is about the influences those experiences have had on her work, and about the practical lessons she's learned on her way to becoming the internationally acclaimed writer she now is. Contents......Page 8 Something to Declare to My Readers......Page 10 Part One: Customs......Page 14 Grandfather’s Blessing......Page 16 Our Papers......Page 26 My English......Page 34 My Second Opera......Page 44 I Want to Be Miss América......Page 50 El Doctor......Page 58 La Gringuita......Page 74 Picky Eater......Page 88 Briefly, a Gardener......Page 100 Imagining Motherhood......Page 108 Genetics Of Justice......Page 116 Family Matters......Page 126 Part Two: Declarations......Page 144 First Muse......Page 146 Of Maids and Other Muses......Page 160 So Much Depends......Page 176 Doña Aída, with Your Permission......Page 184 Have Typewriter, Will Travel......Page 190 A Vermont Writer from the Dominican Republic......Page 200 Chasing the Butterflies......Page 210 Goodbye, Ms. Chips......Page 224 In the Name of the Novel......Page 242 Ten of My Writing Commandments......Page 272 Grounds for Fiction......Page 274 Writing Matters......Page 290 Contents 8 Something to Declare to My Readers 10 Part One: Customs 14 Grandfather鈥檚 Blessing 16 Our Papers 26 My English 34 My Second Opera 44 I Want to Be Miss Am茅rica 50 El Doctor 58 La Gringuita 74 Picky Eater 88 Briefly, a Gardener 100 Imagining Motherhood 108 Genetics Of Justice 116 Family Matters 126 Part Two: Declarations 144 First Muse 146 Of Maids and Other Muses 160 So Much Depends 176 Do帽a A铆da, with Your Permission 184 Have Typewriter, Will Travel 190 A Vermont Writer from the Dominican Republic 200 Chasing the Butterflies 210 Goodbye, Ms. Chips 224 In the Name of the Novel 242 Ten of My Writing Commandments 272 Grounds for Fiction 274 Writing Matters 290 1565121937,9781565121935 Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill