Alvarez questioned what it means to be near the end of life, surrounded by memories of deceased loved ones.
“What does it mean to be so close to the dead we have lost? To have more people dead that we love than alive?”
she asked.
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Her poem “The Red Bathrobe” captures the feeling of becoming invisible as younger figures take center stage.
“That invisibility, I think, is important to acknowledge and to name and to story about,” she said, adding that few narratives address this social invisibility.
Despite being honored at the Dominican Writers Summit 2026, Alvarez avoids focusing on her legacy. “I really don’t think about it.
If I thought about it, I would lose my focus,” she explained.
She emphasized that writing requires devotion to the story and characters, not audience reactions. “When you’re writing, you’re in the service of the story and the characters.
I can’t be looking at my audience,” she said.
Alvarez recalled starting to write because American literature lacked stories representing her immigrant and family experiences. “When I started writing, there was that gap in the shelf.
I couldn’t see myself,” she said.
She described her creative process as a search for understanding. “I go into story not because I have answers but because I have questions,” Alvarez said.
She expressed gratitude for her long career.
“How lucky is it to be able to do what is your passion to do in this world and get paid for it?”
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she concluded.
