num_pages: 300
description: "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 big-hearted, wisecracking friend share hard-earned wisdom about family, identity, and the art of writing." --People The rich and revealing essays in Something to Declare offer Julia Alvarez's dual meditations on coming to America and becoming a writer. In the first section, "Customs," Alvarez relates how she and her family fled the Dominican Republic and its oppressive dictator, Rafael Trujillo, settling in New York City in the 1960s. Here Julia begins a love affair with the English language under the tutelage of the aptly named Sister Maria Generosa. Part Two--"Declarations"--celebrates Alvarez's enduring passion for the writing life. From the valentine to mythic storyteller Scheherazade that is "First Muse," to a description of Alvarez's itinerant life as a struggling poet, teacher, and writer in "Have Typewriter, Will Travel," to the sage and witty advice of "Ten of My Writing Commandments," Alvarez generously shares her influences and inspirations with aspiring writers everywhere.Grandfather's blessingOur papersMy EnglishMy second operaI want to be Miss AméricaEl DoctorLa GringuitaPicky eaterBriefly, a gardenerImagining motherhoodGenetics of justiceFamily mattersFirst museOf maids and other musesSo much dependsDoña Aída, with your permissionHave typewriter, will travelA Vermont writers from the Dominican RepublicChasing the butterfliesGoodbye, Ms. ChipsIn the name of the novelTen of my writing commandmentsGrounds for fictionWriting matters
language: English
title: Something to Declare: Essays
titlecomplete: Something to Declare: Essays
genres: Essays, Short Stories, Biography, Adult, The United States Of America, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Writing, Memoir, Biography Memoir
ratings_count: 880
places: New York City, New York, Dominican Republic
publisher: Plume