Tuesday October 19th at 7:00 pm

A Fine High Gleefulness: The Art of Shirley Jackson with Ann Robinson, Lecturer

Shirley Jackson, who published from the late 1940's through the early 1960's, earned her living as a commercial writer of domestic comedy, sophisticated ghost tales, gothic horror and psychological drama. Sadly, she is one of the most neglected figures in 20th-century American literature. Her novels We Have Always Lived In This Castle and The Haunting of Hill House remain two of her most popular works, while her landmark short story, The Lottery, originally published in The New Yorker, continues to intrigue readers of all ages. This lecture emphasizes the impact of Jackson's personal life on her art. Rather than have her artistic impulse stifled by the social constraints of the 1950's, she remained prolific for most of her adult life. Her best work reflects her unique personality and her intense interest in the occult. Jackson was considered an oddity and an outsider by the community of Bennington,VT, where she lived for some years with her scholar husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman, and their four children. Undaunted, she used her feelings of isolation as a foundation for some of her most intriguing works. Ann Robinson received a B.A. in English from Connecticut College and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College. Since 1967 she has lived in southwestern NH where she wrote and produced award-winning radio commercials and published feature articles in newspapers and magazines. Initially presented through the NH Humanities Council’s Traveling Scholars program, this hour-length presentation appeals to adult audiences. Free and open to all.