Dominican University will present acclaimed author and poet Julia Alvarez in the 5th Annual Caesar and Patricia Tabet Poetry Reading on Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. Alvarez will read selections from her books of poetry, including The Woman I Kept to Myself (2004) and The Homecoming (1984), in the Lund Auditorium, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. Alvarez, whose novels, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991) and In the Time of Butterflies (1994), brought her international acclaim, is also a notable poet. She has claimed that poetry was her first form of creative writing. Raised in Dominican Republic, Alvarez incorporates within her work issues of assimilation, identity, cultural stereotypes and the experiences of women. She has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Award. In 2013, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama. A book signing and reception will follow the poetry reading and Alvarez’s books will be available for purchase. For more information, contact Rachel Hart Winter, director of the Siena Center, at rhartwinter@dom.edu.