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Daniel Alarcón Tells Stories Without Borders | Columbia Magazine

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The writer and 2021 MacArthur fellow chronicles life in Spanish and English, through fiction and fact, in print and on the air. Daniel Alarcón ’99CC likes to say that a good story has no borders, an apt sentiment from someone whose life and work transcends many of them. Born in Peru and raised in the United States, Alarcón has spent his career documenting political and cultural life across Latin America, finding commonalities across the diverse set of nations. But the fluidity of his portfolio is more than geographic. Alarcón, an assistant professor at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, works in Spanish and English; writes lyrical fiction, carefully reported journalism, and introspective personal essays; and delivers them to audiences in books, in magazines, and on the radio. “We tend to have these rigid definitions of particular genres, but they’ve never felt all that different to me,” Alarcón says. “Creative work often takes rigorous research. And reporting in a compelling way

Arts & Humanities Daniel Alarcón Tells Stories Without Borders The writer and 2021 MacArthur fellow chronicles life in Spanish and English, through fiction and fact, in print and on the air. By Rebecca Shapiro | Winter 2021-22 Daniel Alarcón (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation) Daniel Alarcón ’99CC likes to say that a good story has no borders, an apt sentiment from someone whose life and work transcends many of them. Born in Peru and raised in the United States, Alarcón has spent his career documenting political and cultural life across Latin America, finding commonalities across t

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