Conversation with Baltimore writer Rafael Alvarez
“If you do something you don’t love just for the money you will be miserable… you can always make money, you’re not going to get a minute back”. Rafael Alvarez, Baltimore-based writer and mentor of student Manuel, shared these words in today’s Conversation With. Rafael was a writer for the Baltimore Sun for 24 years before becoming a writer and producer for television. He sold his first article when he was nineteen. His introduction into television writing was working as a staff writer for the classic Baltimore drama The Wire. He has also written 11 books, non fiction as well as short story collections. Rafael has history with TCS as well because he wrote an article about the young school in the 1980’s for the Sun. Rafael told the students his background and how he got into writing as a child. The Beatles inspired him to be an artist because of how their music made him feel. He was a first generation college student in a family of factory workers. Rafael explained that his parents knew he was smart, and wanted him to choose a practical profession like being a lawyer. When he decided he wanted to be a writer, though, his parents were supportive and told him to make sure to work very hard at it. Rafael asked each of the students to ask him one question and promised he would answer honestly. He suggested the students pretend they are a reporter and think of something they would want to know. He asked the students to...
