Jhumpa Lahiri on the Italian Language and Culture as a Place of Creative Freedom As an established writer in one language, how does one “relocate” to another language and another culture? This lecture/conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri -recent recipient of the National Humanities Medal- will focus on her recent book written in Italian and entitled “In Altre Parole”, and limn some of the creative struggles and rewards of the choice to live in a foreign world and to write in foreign words. The exploration of the beauty and richness of the Italian language acquires unexpected meanings when it is undertaken by a prominent writer in today’s literary landscape (The Namesake, Interpreter of Maladies, among other works), whose link to Italy is exclusively shaped by an aesthetic affinity. The title of the program uses her book’s title, which means “in other words,” as a springboard to discuss not just language but also the broader experience of traveling through a different culture, its values and myths, and its artistic patrimony, in order to try to find a place within it. Program Introductory remarks: Giorgio van Straten (Italian Cultural Institute NY, Director) Special guest: Jhumpa Lahiri (author) Moderator: Teresa Fiore (Inserra Chair, MSU) Respondent: Tiziana Rinaldi Castro (Classics and Humanities, MSU) This event is part of La Settimana della Lingua Italiana/ Week of the Italian Language RSVP required by Thur. Oct. 1, 2015