Chinalachaiagari 1

Megana Chinalachaiagari
Hillstock
AP English LiteratureLit 12, Hour 1
13 January 2016
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri, born Nilanjana Sudeshna, is a Bengali first generation child who was
born on July 11, 1967, in London, England. When she was three, her family immigrated Her
father, a librarian, immigrated the family to Kingston, Rhode Island so her father could in order
to work at the University of Rhode Island. when Lahiri was about three years old. Lahiris
education consisted of a Bachelors in English literature (1989), a Masters degree in English, and
eventually, a doctorate in Renaissance Studies from Boston University. She earned herself a
fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center, and later, began to teach at Boston University. While
teaching, she began to pursue her passion in creativity and writing technique.
The onset of Lahiris writing career Lahiris onset of her writing career was met with
wide disapproval from publishers, and she was rejected resulting in multiple rejectionsnumerous
times. Her first successful publication was a set of short stories named Interpreter of Maladies,
earning her the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She went on to write her first novel The
Namesake, a story of an arranged marriage couple immigrating to the United States. The
Namesake was met with great success and was even adapted for into a movie. Lahiri went on to
createalso wrote another novel, The Lowland (2003), and a set of short stories titled
Unaccustomed Earth (2008). These writings reached the New York Times best seller list.
However, despite her success and countless awards, many Indian critics criticize Lahiris
writing content. Lahiri focuses on the immigrant family and their connections with their home

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heritages and cultures. Indian critics find that Lahiri is too detached from this subject to write
realistic be writing personal narratives. However, Lahiri explains that her cultural background
and childhood experiences with her family in Calcutta not only give her sufficient insight on the
subject, but also enliven her artistic touch. influence her writing and her ability to relate to the
subject.
She Jhumpa Lahiri currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Alberto
Vourvoulias-Bush, a a journalist of Guatemalan descent, by the name of Alberto Vourvoulias
Bush, and her two children.

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Works Cited
Biography Great Authors of World Literature, Critical Edition Ed. Frank Northen Magill.
eNotes.com. Inc. 1997 eNotes.com. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
Editors, Biography.com "Jhumpa Lahiri Biography. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.
Web. 12 Jan. 2016

"Jhumpa Lahiri. 2012. FamousAuthors.org. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.

Knopf, Aflred A. About the Author. Jhumpa Lahiri. Random House, 2008. Web. 12 Jan 2016

Editors, Biography.com "Jhumpa Lahiri Biography. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.
Web. 12 Jan. 2016