Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri offered insight into her work at an event hosted by the University bookstore Sunday afternoon.
The celebrated writer read from her newly-released novel, “The Lowland,” and discussed her approach to writing with poet William Corbett in front of a packed Macmillan 117.
After she read from the second chapter of her book, Lahiri answered Corbett’s questions on topics ranging from the book’s political themes to her writing style and routine.
Much of the research that Lahiri conducted for the book centered on the revolutionary Maoist movement in India in the 1970s. One of the book’s most pivotal events, the execution of a main character, was based on an event near her paternal grandparents’ home, she said.
“It took me 16 years to figure this book out,” Lahiri said. “Ten of these years was simply writing this brief scene of execution.”
“What is politics if not human?” Lahiri said. “For me, it was always a story about those things together. And it was simply my own curiosity and, I suppose, my own sense of ignorance that I was trying to address.”
When asked about the historical undercurrents of the novel, Lahiri said she had wanted to explore the effects of politics on her characters’ personal lives but that it was difficult finding useful research material.
“The politics and history were serving me to write the story,” Lahiri said. “I wanted more personal diaries, letters, memoirs about what was life like, what was this movement like, how it was affecting the daily life of ordinary people.”
Instead, Lahiri said she looked into the personal writings of other revolutionary movements in places like Ireland and Cuba.
“I say the writer who was most helpful to me was (Thomas) Harding,” Lahiri said. “I found his example essential in terms of working with characters, social constraints like the role of women, working with place, what place means to his characters. Reading him, I felt that he was very much my guide and my companion.”
Lahiri, who grew up in Kingstown, set a large portion of “The Lowland” in and around Rhode Island. The rest of the book takes place in India.
When asked about criticisms of her work, Lahiri spoke about a time when simply hearing of a critical review made her cry multiple nights in a row.
“I think reviewers do a great service when they’re smart, when they’re passionate, when they’re sensitive — for readers, that is,” Lahiri said. “(For writers,) it’s just too hard to know when they’re bad, and it doesn’t really help to know when they’re good.”
The audience consisted of many Providence locals as well as some Brown students, almost all of whom clutched copies of the new book and followed along with Lahiri’s reading.
Geetika Tewary, who came to the reading with her husband, said Lahiri is one of her favorite authors because she strongly identifies with Lahiri’s focus on Indian-American life.
“She speaks to our lot,” Tewary said. “What really strikes home is how beautifully she speaks of the immigrant experience. You know, you want your kids to grow up and be part of this culture, but at the same time, you don’t want them to lose touch with where they’re from.”
Tewary, who works as a physician in Providence, said she has read all of Lahiri’s books other than the most recent but that her favorite is Lahiri’s first novel, “The Namesake.”
“It’s one of my go-to books,” Tewary said. “Whenever I have a bad day at work, I just open it up and read a little bit from it. You don’t have to exercise your imagination so much to understand what she’s trying to say.”
Sabin Ray ’15, who also attended the reading, said “The Lowland” is the first book by Lahiri she has read, adding that she enjoyed listening to the author’s answers.
“(Corbett) asked some really great questions about the process of writing, which I think is something students always wonder about,” Ray said. “It was nice to get the personal interaction with her thought process.”
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