“I am proud that these distinguished individuals will serve in my administration. The arts and the humanities enhance the vibrancy of our society, inspire us and strengthen our democracy,” Mr Obama said in a statement.“I look forward to working with them in the weeks and months ahead,” Mr Obama said.Besides Ms Lahiri, other appointed to the committee are Chuck Close, Fred Goldring, Sheila Johnson, Pamela Joyner and Ken Solomon, the White House said.A fiction writer, Ms Lahiri’s debut collection of stories, Interpreter of Maladies, received the Pulitzer Prize, PEN/Hem-ingway Award, Addison M. Metcalf Award and New Yorker magazine’s Debut of the Year.Her novel, The Namesake, was a New York Times Notable Book, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.Her latest story collection, Unaccustomed Earth, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Vallombrosa-Gregor von Rezzori Prize.Chuck Close is a visual artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face and is best known for his large-scale, photo-based portrait paintings.Fred Goldring co-founded the California-based entertainment law firm Goldring, Hertz and Lichtenstein, which represents numerous global superstar recording and performing artistes. —PTI
Lalit K. Jha Washington