“Even printed, on pages that are bound, sentences remain unsettled organisms. Years later, I can always reach out to smooth a stray hair. And yet, at a certain point, I must walk away, trusting them to do their work. I am left looking over my shoulder, wondering if I might have structured one more effectively.”

Jhumpa Lahiri is an American novelist and short story writer of Bengali descent. She gained prominence for her nuanced exploration of immigrant experiences, particularly through works like *Interpreter of Maladies* and *The Namesake*. Her writing often examines cultural displacement and the complexities of identity.