Jhumpa Lahiri
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-->Jhumpa Lahiri Vourvoulias (born Nilanjana Sudeshna in 1967) is a contemporary Indian American (Bengali) author based in New York City.
Contents
Biography
Lahiri was born in London, England in July 1967. Her parents, a teacher and a librarian, taught her about her Bengali heritage from an early age. Lahiri attended Barnard College, graduating in 1989 with a major in English literature. She later attended Boston University, earning Master's Degrees in both Creative Writing and Comparative Studies in Literature and the Arts, as well as a PhD in Renaissance Studies. In 2001, she married Alberto Vourvoulias, a journalist. Lahiri currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.Career
Lahiri taught creative writing at Boston University and Rhode Island School of Design. Much of her short fiction concerns the lives of Indian-Americans, particularly Bengalis.Interpreter of Maladies
As a collection of nine distinct short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri's debut, addresses sensitive dilemmas in the lives of Indians or Indian immigrants. The stories' themes include marital difficulties, miscarriages, and the disconnection between first and second generation immigrants. The majority of the stories are set in the northeastern United States, but some are set in India.The Namesake
The Namesake, her second book and first novel, was published in 2003. An anecdote published in USA Today mentions a schoolteacher who found her given name too long and used her nickname Jhumpa instead. Lahiri adapted this incident in her book, which spans more than thirty years in the life of a fictional second-generation immigrant. As the title suggests, one of the issues discussed is the personal confusion caused by the character's unusual given name, which serves as a symbol of his unclear cultural identity. The novel deals with cultural and generational conflict between a couple from India and their American born son, Gogol.Film
The Namesake is being turned into a film of the same name, directed by Mira Nair with a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala. The film stars Tabu, Irfan Khan and Kal Penn and will be released in November 2006.Awards
- 1999 - O. Henry Award for short story "Interpreter of Maladies"
- short story "Interpreter of Maladies" selected as one of Best American Short Stories
- 2000 - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her debut Interpreter of Maladies
- 2000 - M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation
- Lahiri named one of the best young writers in America by the New Yorker
References
- Selvadurai, Shyam (ed.). "Jhumpa Lahiri: This Blessed House." Story-Wallah: A Celebration of South Asian Fiction. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2005:391-410.
Bibliography
- 1999 Interpreter of Maladies
- 2001 "Nobody's Business" (11 March 2001, The New Yorker)
- 2003 The Namesake
- 2004 "Hell-Heaven" (24 May 2004, The New Yorker) - [full text]
- 2006 "Once In A Lifetime" (1 May 2006, The New Yorker) - [full text]
External links
Biographies: Misc.:- [Lahiri in context of the Subcontinent]
- [Barnard news about the Pulitzer]
- [NPR Interview on Fresh Air]
- [PBS interview about the Pulitzer]
- [Research on Lahiri] (Bibliographical Information)
- [Newsweek Article: My Two Lives]
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