Spotlight on Professor Isabel Alvarez-Borland

Isabel Alvarez-Borland of the modern languages and literatures department claims Cuban-American literature of exile as her main area of scholarly interest. A Cuban exile herself, Alvarez-Borland is able to offer a unique perspective on the literature she studies. Her expertise has led to invitations to speak at conferences through the United States and in Mexico and Spain. Recently, her work has also sparked an interest with the media.

This past January she was invited to appear on Boston's BNNTV show "Visions" for her academic work on the Cuban-American community. The program airs every Wednesday night with "the purpose of presenting an array of talented (mostly Latino) professionals and community leaders that live in or are visiting Boston." Alvarez-Borland was asked to the show to discuss her book Cuban-American Narratives of Exile: From Person to Persona, a book of literary criticism on the works of three living generations of Cuban exile authors, including Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Reinaldo Arenas, Roberto Fernandez, Achy Obejas, and Cristina Garcia.

Last semester, the Modern Languages Association(MLA) asked her to participate in their syndicated radio program "What's the word?" The program airs throughout the United States and in New Zealand. Her segment titled "Cuban Writing, on the Island and in Exile," aired during the fall of 2002 and is currently available on the MLA Web site. The program is archived for use by teachers and the general public.

She has also appeared as an invited guest commentator on two different NPR programs including "The Connection" on the topic of Cuban-American writer Ana Menendez, and "Book of the Air Club" on the topic of Achy Obejas' novel Memory Mambo.

A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1981, she teaches introductory and intermediate Spanish courses as well as advanced seminars in Latin American literature. Her specialty areas include the contemporary Latin American narrative, Cuban and Cuban-American literature, Spanish-Caribbean fiction and U.S. Latino literature.

While at Holy Cross Alvarez-Borland has served on numerous departmental and college committees including the Special Studies Committee; the Committee on Fellowships, Research and Publications; and the Dana Scholarship Committee. She has also served as a faculty liaison for Latino/a students and as the coordinator of the Latin American Studies Concentration.

The recipient of numerous awards including two Hewlett Mellon Grants, Alvarez-Borland works as a manuscript consultant for several university presses and scholarly journals. In addition to Cuban-American Narratives of Exile: From Person to Persona, she is also the author of Dicontinuidad y ruptura en Guillermo Cabrera Infante. Her articles have been published in numerous journals including Hispanic Review, Hispania, and World Literature Today.

Alvarez-Borland earned her B.A. in Spanish and French at Lycoming College, Williamsport, Penn., her M.A. in Spanish at Middlebury College and her Ph.D. in Spanish and French at The Pennsylvania State University.

She is currently doing research on the Cuban exile generation of the 1990s who have settled mostly in Europe and Latin America. She lives in Shrewsbury, Mass.

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# Modern Languages and Literatures Department