‘Living Inside an Italian Dictionary’

When Valentina Geri, lecturer in Italian studies, assigned Jhumpa Lahiri’s memoir, In Other Words, to the students enrolled in her ITL245 Italian immersion class last semester, the last thing she’d expected was for them to translate it from page to screen.

But when she’d received word of a contest being held by the Italian Consulate in Boston as part of its annual Week of the Italian Language in the World event, her students jumped at the opportunity to bring Lahiri’s story to life in a new way.

Open to high school and college students in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont who are studying Italian, the contest, which this year included the theme “Italian and the Book: The World Between the Lines,” required them to to review a list of authors and submit a creative adaptation of one of said authors’ literary Italian texts, either through recitation or acting.

It seemed like fate that one of the authors on that list was Jhumpa Lahiri, and that Geri’s students were in the midst of studying Lahiri’s memoir. “It was perfect,” Geri says. “The students were invested right away, and they were all very excited about it. The whole process was so much fun, for them and for me.”

In Other Words chronicles Lahiri’s relationship with the Italian language, a journey that began shortly after college. In one chapter, in particular, Lahiri recalls the first Italian book she bought—a pocket dictionary—ahead of her first trip to Florence, where the bookseller claimed she would “soon be living inside an Italian dictionary.” When one of Geri’s students returned from October’s fall break with a similar dictionary, a lightbulb went off, and the idea for the class’ contest submission began to take shape.

“They related a lot to [Lahiri] in that chapter because of their age and location—Lahiri studied in Boston and went to Italy for the first time shortly after college—and the fact that they’ll all eventually be going to Florence in future semesters,” Geri says. “We had an open dialogue about ideas and having that dictionary involved brought it all together.”

Thus began a whirlwind three weeks, with the class shifting focus from traditional language study to adapting the chapter for the small screen. It didn’t take long for the students to start building on their idea, so much so that they began working with the campus and local community to bring their vision to life: the Smith College Museum of Art had a cameo as a museum in Florence, while Forbes Library in Northampton served as a stand-in for Boston’s late Rizzoli Bookstore.

“Everything was so collaborative,” says Xiomara Dominguez ’26, who pitched visual ideas and lent her voice as a narrator in the production. “Seeing our language skills and creativity come together to produce something truly special was an unforgettable experience.”

Speaking of unforgettable—not only did Geri and her students complete the project and immerse themselves even further in their Italian studies, the Consulate chose them as the winners of the competition.

“We were so happy, we couldn’t believe it,” Geri recalls. “And I was so proud. It wasn’t just an opportunity for students to learn and practice the language, but to strengthen friendships and build community through their work. It really showed how effectively they can immerse themselves in other languages and cultures.”

Thanks to the generosity and coordination of a handful of departments across campus, Geri arranged for transportation to take the students to Boston for the awards ceremony on Friday, Nov. 15, to accept their award in person, because after all, “When would we have another opportunity to go to the Italian Consulate?”

“Receiving the award alongside my classmates was so rewarding,” says Claire Enerson ’27, who played the role of a security guard in the winning video. “Especially because during the ceremony, I could see my excitement about learning the Italian language reflected in students of all ages.”