Santo Stefano Belbo, Italy – The 2024 Pavese Festival’s off-program kicks off on Friday, April 12 at 6:30 pm with a highly anticipated event featuring Jhumpa Lahiri, acclaimed writer, translator, and Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2000. Lahiri will be in conversation with Pierluigi Vaccaneo, director of the Cesare Pavese Foundation, discussing her work as a translator, her appreciation for Cesare Pavese’s oeuvre, and Dialogues with Leucò, Pavese’s work that translates myth into dialogues between men, gods, and titans.
Lahiri, known for her deep admiration for Pavese and the Italian language, is also a translator herself, having learned Italian through reading Pavese’s works. This event highlights the literary and cultural significance of maintaining ties with Italian literature and its impact on international authors.
The festival organizers are excited to welcome Lahiri back, following her previous appearance at the Pavese Festival last year. The event, held at the Italian House Zerilli-Marimò in New York, was a testament to Lahiri’s dedication to promoting cross-cultural understanding through literature.
Jhumpa Lahiri, born in London to Bengali parents, is a prominent figure in contemporary literature. She has authored nine books, all published in Italy by Guanda, including Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake, and Whereabouts. Lahiri’s contributions to literature have earned her prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Hemingway Award.
The dialogue between Lahiri and Vaccaneo promises to be a captivating exploration of literature, translation, and cultural exchange, making it a must-attend event for literature enthusiasts and fans of Lahiri’s work alike.
