“A dynamic, rich and open country”. These are the words used to describe Italy by the American Pulitzer Prize winner of Bengali descent, Jhumpa Lahiri, during her visit to the Italian Foreign Ministry, also defining “literature as a useful tool for learning the language and reality of a country”. Born in London, she grew up in the United States and has spent long periods in Italy, becoming well-versed in the works of Italian authors.
Jhumpa Lahiri was invited to the Foreign Ministry precisely out of gratitude for her work in promoting the Italian language and literature throughout the world, for which she was thanked by the General Director for the promotion of the Italian Economic System, Lorenzo Angeloni.
Her great love of Italy and some serious research work have produced these ‘Racconti italiani’ (Italian Short Stories), a selection of short fiction by about forty Italian authors of the 20th century with different styles and backgrounds, from Elio Vittorini and Italo Calvino to Natalia Ginzburg, from Antonio Delfini to Fabrizia Ramondino. The common theme they share is the passion and brilliance with which they tackle the narrative form of short fiction.
In 2018 Jhumpa Lahiri, currently a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, published her first novel in Italian “Dove mi trovo“.
