• Home
• Programs
• Courses
• Faculty
• News
• Events
• Contact
• Resources

May 10, 2010: Jhumpa Lahiri

Even before the abundance of global attention earned by her 1999 Pulitzer Prize–winning collection of short stories The Interpreter of Maladies, Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri was no stranger to international considerations.

Born in London, raised in Rhode Island, and a frequent visitor of family in India, Lahiri was exposed to contrasting cultures from an early age. It is in these opposing cultures—and the difficulty of carving out a cohesive identity therein—that is at the heart of the talented writer’s work. Lahiri’s characters search to find meaning in a world that is constantly bombarded by conflict—conflict between modern and traditional, family and society, outward appearance and inner character, and, perhaps most importantly, the difficulty of carving out an American identity.

No matter what your background is or what your heritage consists of, Lahiri’s work will speak to you. She uses themes relatable to most everyone: extra-marital affairs, caring for aging parents, loss of family members, adopting new names or characteristics to fit changing circumstances; Lahiri’s stories reach past the experience of the lost outsider and strike a chord with all people whose situations are in constant flux.

Her latest collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Outside of her literary career, Lahiri has also had her hand in film; her first novel The Namesake was adapted into a popular movie directed by Mira Nair.

Besides winning the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for The Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri has also received an O. Henry Award for Short Story, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and the New Yorker’s Best Debut of the Year for the collection. In addition, she’s been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Frank O’Connor International Story Award for Unaccustomed Earth.