Isabel Allende Educational Posters, Books, Links for Learning
for the language arts, women's studies and social studies classrooms and home schoolers.

Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende

Poster Text: “Clara's childhood came to an end and she entered her youth...in a world of terrifying stories and calm silences. It was a world in which time was not marked by calendars or watches and objects had a life of the own.”- The House of the Spirits

"I've always told stories," says Isabel Allende. "They used to call me a liar. Now that I write books, they call me a narrator." That gift for storytelling has made Ms. Allende one of the most celebrated writers to come out of Latin America. Her books have sold more than ten million copies and have geen translated into 27 languages.

Isabel Allende was born in Peru, but when she was young, her family went to live with her grandparents in Chile. Her grandfather was very strict – he wouldn't even allow a radio in the house. Instead, Isabel spent her time in the basement, where she devoured hundreds of books, "Reading . . . was my time, my space, my universe," she says.

Ms. Allende became a well-known journalist. But her life changed forever in 1973 when her uncle, Salvador Allende Gossens, the president of Chile, was killed in a military coup. Ms. Allende fled to Venezuela in 1975.

Her first novel, the House of the Spiritis, was published when she was 40. It started out as a letter to her dying grandfatehr. "He believed that people only really died when they were forgotten." she says. "I began writing him the memories that would keep him alive for me." Many of the characters are based on her own family, including her grandmother, who, Ms. Allende says, was clairvoyant, and could move objects without touching them. The House of the Spirits, like much of Ms. Allende's fiction, incorporates magic realism, a literary style where seemingly impossible things occur in everyday life.

In 1987, Ms. Allende moved to California. As an exile from Chile, and as a non-white woman living in an adopted country, she sees herself as an outsider. But she believes this helps her writing. "As an outsider, I'm in a privileged position. While everyone else takes everything for granted, I'm always asking questions. I get unusual answers."

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Salvador Allende
b. 12-26-1908; Valparaiso, Chile
d. 9-11-1973; Santiago (assassination by suicide)

Salvador Allende, the President of Chile, was trained as a medical doctor. His decision to redistribute wealth and land in an attempt to allivate malnutrition and unemployment lead to his death during a military coup funded by the CIA.

Salvador Allende quote ~
• “Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Keep in mind that, much sooner than later, the great avenues will again be opened through which will pass free men to construct a better society. Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!”
President Salvador Allende's farewell speech, September 11, 1973

FYI - Salvador Allende's niece, Isabel Allende, is a noted author.

South America Political Map

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Farm house w/ mountain in background, Chile

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