Vita

EDUCATION

Bread Loaf School of English: Three graduate courses towards a Masters in English and American Literature, summer 1979, 1980.

Syracuse University: Masters in Creative Writing, 1973-75.

Middlebury College: Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, College Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, 1969-71. Transferred from Connecticut College, 1967-69.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Writer-in-Residence, English Department, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., 1998-- New arrangement with the college, whereby I teach creative writing on a part-time basis, advise Latino students, and serve as an outside reader for creative writing theses by English majors.

Professor, English Department, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 1988--1998. Responsible for teaching beginning and advanced creative writing workshops as well as a variety of literature courses, including an introductory course for English majors focusing on literary analysis skills in all the genres; a Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare course; a Hispanic American literature course; a Minority Women's Literature course; and other winter term (one month long) courses in inter-disciplinary subjects. Tenured 1991; promoted to full professor, 1996.

Assistant Professor, English Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, l985-88. Responsible for teaching beginning and advanced fiction and poetry workshops as well as courses on women's studies and minority/ethnic literature. Committee assignments include: Readings Committee (arranging and hosting poetry and fiction readings); Creative Writing Awards Committee (judging student poetry and fiction contests).

Jenny McKean Moore Visiting Writer, English Department, the George Washington University, Washington, DC, 1984-85. A one-year fellowship awarded after a national competition, which required the resident writer to teach two creative writing workshops (poetry and fiction ) for the community and two academic courses at the George Washington University: one, a creative writing course on autobiographical writing; the other, a literature course on memoirs by immigrant Americans called Growing Up Ethnic.

Visiting Assistant Professor, English Department, the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, two-year appointment in creative writing, 1981-83. Taught fiction and poetry workshops, introductory and advanced (for upperclassmen and graduate students) as well as a course on fiction (lecture format, 45 students).

English Instructor, Phillips Andover Academy, Andover, MA, 1979-81. Taught English at a private boarding school, grades 9-12. Courses included: introductory and advanced literature courses (poetry, fiction, drama, comic theory, Shakespeare); expository and creative writing courses (beginning and advanced). Other job responsibilities included residential duties, academic counseling, co-chairmanship of the Minority Life Committee, advisor to the Afro-American-Latino Society.

Writer-in-Residence for senior citizen writing workshops, Fayetteville, NC, spring 1978. A pilot project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arts Council of Fayetteville. Conducted eleven weeks of poetry workshops for senior citizens in rest homes, civic and county centers, culminating in an anthology, Old Age Ain't For Sissies.

Writer-in-Residence, Mary Williams Elementary School, Wilmington, DE, winter 1978. A bilingual (Spanish/English) creative writing project sponsored by the Delaware Arts Council and the Wilmington School District. Conducted daily bilingual creative writing workshops in English and Spanish, one teacher workshop per week, culminating in an anthology, Yo Soy/ I Am.

English Instructor, California State College (Fresno) and College of the Sequoias, Visalia, CA, fall 1977. Taught Freshman English, including expository writing, literary analysis, research skills, readings in fiction, poetry, drama, essays, weekly themes.

Writer-in-Residence for the Kentucky Arts Commission, Frankfort, KY, 1975-77. Served as the visiting writer in elementary schools, high schools, colleges, communities throughout Kentucky for two years, conducting writing workshops, giving readings.

EDITORIAL/ARTS CONSULTANCY EXPERIENCE

Judge, National Poetry Contest, sponsored by Olay and Poetry Society of America, January 2004.

Judge, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba. Invited to serve as part of an international jury, awarding the annual Casa de las Américas prizes, 1998.

Judge, Pen Newman's Own First Amendment Award. Served as a judge for the PEN AMERICAN CENTER's annual award for those who have defended the right to free expression, 1996.

Staff, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, summer 1987, 1988, 1994, 1997. Read contributors' manuscripts in fiction and poetry; conducted fiction and poetry workshops; gave readings of my own work. Also on the staff of Bread Loaf Young Writers' Conference, summer l989, 1990. Read high school students' manuscripts in fiction and poetry; conducted workshops; gave a reading of my work.

Judge for National Essay Contest, Hispanic Magazine, 1992

Judge, Emily Dickinson Poetry Prize, Poetry Society of America, 1988.

Judge & editor of prize collection, Parkmont Poetry Festival Contest, Washington, DC. 1985.

Thesis Reader, English Department, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 1982-84. Served as outside reader for creative writing theses, fiction and poetry.

Resource Consultant, The Artists Foundation, Boston, MA, 1980-81. Served as resource person for resident writers in the Massachusetts Writers-in-the-Schools program.

Panelist, Try-Arts, Boston, MA, fall 1979. Member of the panel which read entries and awarded Poetry-in-the-Schools residencies and Grant Awards for Massachusetts, 1980-81.

Assistant Editor, Special Reports, Inc., New York City, NY, fall 1971. Researched, wrote, reviewed books, planned layout, and edited Special Reports/Ecology, a weekly newsletter for industry and environmental/policy-making institutions.

Editorial board of The Wadsworth Anthology of Poetry (New York: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006).

AFFILIATIONS AND HONORS

In the Time of the Butterflies selected as the One Book-One Chicago choice for 2004 by the city of Chicago, a citywide book club sponsored by the mayor's office and the Chicago Public Library. The program culminates with author's visit, including readings and visits to schools and libraries as well as the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, October 18-21, 2004.

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, Ripton, VT. Member of the 2004 staff: conducted fiction workshop, gave lecture, reading, and met individually with ten contributors, August 10-22, 2004.

Honorary Degree, Union College, Schenectady, NY. Delivered keynote speech on the occasion of Founders Day and received honorary doctorate in letters, February 26, 2004.

New York Public Library, New York, NY. Manuscripts of sonnet sequence, "33," included in exhibit, "Passion's Discipline: the History of the Sonnet in the British Isles and America," May 2-August 2, 2003.

Before We Were Free, winner of the American Library Association's Pura Belpre Award for an outstanding work of literature for children and youth which portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience, 2003.

Before We Were Free, awarded the 2002 Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature by The Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

Before We Were Free, selected as the 2002 recipient of the AmÈricas Award for Young Adult Literature

Before We Were Free, selected one of the best books of the year by Miami Herald, 2002, as well as an ALA (American Library Association) Notable and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2002.

Fray Antón de Montesinos Award, Alumni Association of the University of Santo Domingo, November 2, 2002.

Sor Juana Award for 2002, Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Chicago, IL. October 9, 2002.

Hispanic Heritage Award in Literture, 2002, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. September 20, 2002.

A Cafecito Story, awarded the Nebraska Book Award for Fiction, 2002.

How The García Girls Lost Their Accents, selected as one of four texts for the national reading project, "A Latino National Conversation," sponsored by The Great Books Foundation, 2001-2002.

How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay, awarded Parent's Guide to Children's Media, Inc., outstanding book, 2001.

How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay, awarded Child Magazine Best Children's Book recipient, 2001.

In the Name of Salomé chosen as one of the top 10 books of 2000 by Latino.com.

Gala dinner in honor of my work, Dominican Week in the United States, New York Historical Society, New York, NY, October 3, 2000.

Woman of the Year, Latina Magazine, September, 2000.

USA delegation to the inauguration of the new president of the Dominican Republic, Hipolito Mejía. Chosen by the White House to form part of three-member delegation headed by Attorney General Janet Reno, August 16, 2000.

Awarded annual prize as the woman of the year, 2000, by Semana Cultural y Festival Dominicano in Boston in recognition of my writing, August 8, 2000.

Elected honor member of Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honor Society, 2000.

How The García Girls Lost Their Accents picked by NY Librarians as one of 21 classics for 21st century, including The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White; Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez; Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison; and The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, September 13, 1999.

1998 Literature Leadership Award, Dominico-American Society of Queens, Inc.

Elected to National Members Council, PEN American Center, two-year term, 1997-1999.

Dominican Republic Annual Book Fair, 1997, dedicated to my work. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dedication ceremony and reading, May 2, 1997.

Alumni Achievement Award, 1996. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT.

The Jessica Nobel-Maxwell Poetry Prize for 1995 awarded by The American Poetry Review to a poet whose works have been published in the magazine for that calendar year.

Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, The City University of New York, John Jay College, May 31, 1996.

Citation by the borough of Manhattan, "in recognition of your achievement in presenting issues in contemporary life in the United States and the Dominican Republic," presented by Ruth W. Messinger, president of the borough of Manhattan, at the 92nd Street Y, January 29, l996.

"Homenaje a Julia Alvarez," Santiago, Dominican Republic. An afternoon of essays and presentations on my work by five Dominican literary critics, January 13, 1996.

New York Public Library, New York, NY. "The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, From John Donne to Julia Alvarez," December 1995-April 1996.

Honored at a gala dinner in the State Department as one of six Dominican-Americans who have made a significant contribution to the Dominican community in both countries, hosted by the Dominican American Assistance Fund and the USA State Department, October 2, 1995.

"Coco Stop" won the Reader's Choice Award for 1994, published in winter 1994 issue of Prairie Schooner.

In the Time of the Butterflies was selected a Notable Book, 1994, by the American Library Association; a Book of the Month Club choice for 1994; a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction, 1995; was chosen as one of the Best Books for Young Adults, 1995, by the Young Adult Library Services Association and the American Library Association.

How The García Girls Lost Their Accents was selected a Notable Book, 1992, by the American Library Association; Notable Book, 1991, New York Times Book Review; awarded the 1991 Pen Oakland/Josephine Miles Award for books which present a multicultural viewpoint.

"Bookmaking," chosen and published as one of the best poems of the year by Mark Strand, editor, The Best American Poetry 1991 (New York: Scribners and Macmillan/Collier, 1991).

Ingram Merrill Foundation Grant, 1990, awarded for fiction manuscript.

6th PEN Syndicated Fiction Prize, 1987, awarded for "Snow."

National Endowment for the Arts grant, 1987-88, awarded for a manuscript of poetry.

Resident writer, Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic, winter l988. One of five artists selected from an international competition to live and work in this artist colony. My responsibilities included conducting community workshops from time to time and giving two readings of my own work.

General Electric Foundation Award for Younger Writers, 1986.

Third Woman Press Award, 1st prize in narrative, 1986.

Research Board, University of Illinois, fall 1986, grant for released time to work on fiction manuscript.

Robert Frost Fellow in Poetry, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, summer 1986.

Member of the Academy of American Poets; the Associated Writing Programs; Poets & Writers; the Latin American Writers' Institute.

Vermont Arts Council Exhibition Grant for "A Handmade Artists' Book": an exhibit of my housekeeping poems, illustrated and printed by two women artists, hung in the Governor's Corridor, State House, summer 1984, and was on tour in Vermont, 1984-85.

Bread Loaf Scholar in Fiction, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, summer 1983.

La Reina Creative Writing Award winner, poetry, La Reina Press, Cincinnati, OH, 1982.

Yaddo residency in fiction, Saratoga Springs, NY, summer 1981.

John Atherton Scholar in Poetry, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, summer 1979.

Kenan Grant for short stories, Phillips Andover Academy, Andover, MA, summer l980.

Creative Writing Fellowship, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 1974-75.

The Academy of American Poetry Prize, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 1974.

Benjamin T. Marshall Poetry Prize, Connecticut College, New London, CT, 1968, 1969.