Laurence Jackson Hyman on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Even casual readers will be familiar with Shirley Jackson's classic works: The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and her iconic and widely anthologized short story "The Lottery." Stephen King called The Haunting of Hill House "one of the most important horror novels of the 20th century."

In the course of her two-decade career, Jackson wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories. A film based loosely on her life, starring Elisabeth Moss, was released last year (though the portrayal is far from accurate).

Although Jackson died in 1965, her work is enjoying a renaissance. Thanks in part to her eldest son, Laurence Jackson Hyman, several of her books and stories are now being made into movies. Hyman published two story collections posthumously and now, for the first time, has revived a collection of Jackson's letters dating from 1938 to 1965.

Hyman joins Marrie Stone to talk about The Letters of Shirley Jackson, his mother's legacy, the woman behind the thrillers, and domestic life and memories with Jackson growing up. We also learn about Jackson's husband, Stanley Hyman, a staff writer for the New Yorker, professor at Bennington College, and literary critic. Shirley Jackson fans won't want to miss this intimate insider's look inside her life. 

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(Broadcast date: July 21, 2021)