New Student Reading Project author to visit Nov. 4-5

Amara Lakhous
Lakhous

Algerian-Italian novelist Amara Lakhous, author of the 2014 New Student Reading Project selection, “Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio,” will deliver a lecture, “Immigration as a Gift, the Gift of Immigration,” Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. A reception will follow at 6 p.m. at the A.D. White House. He will also visit with students and faculty on Nov. 5.

Lakhous was born in Algiers in 1970 and has lived in Italy since 1995. He holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers and a doctorate in cultural anthropology from La Sapienza University in Rome, where he wrote his dissertation on Muslim-Arab immigrants in Italy.

Before immigrating to Italy, Lakhous worked as a radio journalist for Algerian national radio. His first book, “The Bug and the Pirate," which he wrote in Arabic at age 23, was later published in a bilingual Italian/Arabic edition. “Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio,” published in Italy in 2006, earned him several literary prizes in Italy and Algeria.

In Italy, Lakhous has worked as a journalist, cultural mediator and translator. His third novel, “Divorce Islamic Style” (2012), was followed in 2014 by “Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet,” translated by Ann Goldstein. Both novels, written in Italian, deal with the phenomenon of recent African and Arab immigration to Italy in lighthearted, comedic ways that are attentive to its complexities. Lakhous has been living in New York City since August.

His visit is sponsored by the Mediterranean Studies Initiative of the Cornell Institute for European Studies, the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. For more information, contact Kora von Wittelsbach or Gail Holst-Warhaft.

Media Contact

Syl Kacapyr