The Woman I Kept to Myself

75 Poems by the Author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies

The works of this award-winning poet and novelist are rich with the language and influences of two cultures: those of the Dominican Republic of her childhood and the America of her youth and adulthood. They have shaped her writing just as they have shaped her life. In these seventy-five autobiographical poems, Alvarez’s clear voice sings out in every line. Here, in the middle of her life, she looks back as a way of understanding and celebrating the woman she has become.

Julia Alvarez’s new novel, Afterlife, is available now.

“Charming and intense at the same time, Alvarez writes candidly of epic concerns and everyday realities in this unfailingly lucid collection of autobiographical poems.” —Booklist

“Brave and vivid . . . Seventy-five poems express wonder, anger, grief and joy in clear, accessible narratives.” —The Miami Herald

“The poems are, like precious moments in life, nuggets to be savored and reflected upon.” —The Dallas Morning News