“I think one of the things that attracted me about theater and the stage was the ability to escape reality. And that is what I do in my work as a writer, but in a different way. And the freedom to put your own existence on ice and become another person.”

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.