JHUMPA LAHIRI. AND THE LURE OF A LANGUAGE Ombretta Frau

This is a love affair that literally travels beyond boundaries. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s passion for the Italian language is intriguing as she was born in a Bengali family and her mother staunchly claimed and nurtured her Bengali space all though her 50 years in the U.S. as a migrant. Born in London in 1967, she emigrated to the U.S. with her parents; and even as she embraced the adopted land, Lahiri remained a nomad at heart. Her devotion for Italian took her with her family to live in Rome for a few years. Her recent book, In altre parole/In Other Words emerged from there. An autobiographical narrative in Italian, it is a reflection on the leaning of a language, an enigmatic belonging to it and the power of reinvention. Having written it for the last few years, Lahiri feels an exhilarating transformation, almost like being reborn. Professor Ombretta Frau traces the journey of language and a migrant soul.