Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California, United States. She was a daughter of Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. Childhood of the future writer was held in Burlingame - a suburb of San Francisco, favored by the middle class. Jackson lived in San Fransisco for a few years before moving to New York together with her parents.
Shirley Jackson attended the University of Rochester, but transferred to Syracuse University.
In 1938 Shirley Jackson's first published story, Janice, appeared, and the stories that followed were published in Collier's, Good Housekeeping, Harper's, Mademoiselle, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Woman's Day, Woman's Home Companion, and other publications.
She is best known for the short story The Lottery (1948). In her critical biography of Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when The Lottery was published on June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received".
Her novel The Haunting of Hill House (1959) is a highly regarded example of the haunted house story, and was described by Stephen King as one of the important horror novels of the twentieth century. An earlier novel, Hangsaman (1951), and her short story "The Missing Girl" (from Just an Ordinary Day, the 1995 collection of previously unpublished or uncollected short stories) both contain certain elements similar to the mysterious real-life December 1, 1946, disappearance of an 18-year-old Bennington College sophomore, Paula Jean Welden ofStamford, Connecticut. Her other novels include The Bird's Nest (1954), We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962), and The Sundial (1958). In addition to her adult literary novels, Jackson wrote a children's novel, Nine Magic Wishes, available in an edition illustrated by her grandson, Miles Hyman, as well as a children's play based on Hansel and Gretel, entitled The Bad Children. She also wrote humorous sketches and short stories depicting everyday aspects of family life, which she published in popular magazines, such as Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day and Collier's, and later collected in her books Life Among the Savages (1953) and Raising Demons (1957).
After her death, Jackson's husband released a posthumous volume of her work, Come Along with Me, containing her unfinished last novel, as well as 14 previously uncollected short stories (among them "Louisa, Please Come Home") and three lectures she gave at colleges or writers' conferences in her last years.
Shirley Jackson was popular American short story writer. Her short story, "The Lottery" is widely regarded as a classic in the genre and is often required reading. "The Haunting of Hill House" is as highly evaluated as the "Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, the best stories of M.R James and other famous stories about ghosts, which have become archetypes of the genre.
In 2007 Shirley Jackson Award has been established with the agreement of the writer’s heirs. This award is given for outstanding achievements in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and dark fantasy. Such prominent figures as Stephen King, Peter Watts, Jeffrey Ford, Glen Hirshberg, Laird Barron, Ellen Datlou, Neil Gaiman, and many others have been given this award.
She believed in God. Jackson also celebrated Christmas and other religious festivals due to her strong belief in God. Jackson was often visiting churches and reading the bible and she enjoyed many different kinds of churches around USA but her favorite was always the one she visited most in Vermont. She liked to sit in the church due to its peaceful surroundings and feeling the close connection to God.
Shirley Jackson had a rather diplomatic point of view regarding political opinions and always wanted the best for her country. Jackson believed that in order to be a prosperous and peaceful country everybody needs to help the country and be a good citizen. Jackson's political view was based on her views on life and that everybody is created equal and freedom and liberty are things to strive for. Jackson was against war, poverty and undemocratic behavior so she advocated freedom, peace, opportunities and a good life for all citizens. Jackson always stated that her political views are for the greater good of her country and that USA should become a role model for the world but not through the use of violence and military strategies but rather through diplomatic mission much in the like of Henry Kissingers diplomatic missions to China and the Soviet Union. Jackson believed that United States's invasion in Normandy together with the allies was vital for the victory of Hitler but that USA should now push more for peace than for declarations of war. Shirley Jackson never officially declared which presidents she had voted for but rather maintained her diplomatic persona.
Shirley Jackson was cited as an influence on a diverse set of authors, including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Sarah Waters, Nigel Kneale, Claire Fuller, Joanne Harris, and Richard Matheson.
Shirley Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years".
grooming her dog
Aristotle
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Nigel Kneale and Richard Matheson
Michelangelo
New York Yankees
Babe Ruth
The Who, Frank Sinatra, Woody Guthrie
Shirley Jackson was married to Stanley Edgar Hyman. They had four children, Laurence Jackson, Joanne Leslie, Sarah Geraldine, and Barry Edgar.
