Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings
Page 37
Throughout the editing process we have come again and again to appreciate her craft: the expert use of repetition, the bare simplicity in descriptive language that is one of her trademarks, often within herculean paragraphs consisting of one very complex single sentence. Shirley herself sometimes seemed to us to be lurking among the pages as we worked, both the mother we knew and an unpredictable stranger. Here we saw her creating masterly fiction, but also meeting ghosts while we were off at school, or becoming so frustrated that she would swear off writing forever—before erupting with some masterpiece. Or she might write herself coded messages that she would discover, jarringly, in the morning, or perform some dark protective magic, just after reading us a story and putting us to bed.
While we have worked on these pieces, they have been working on us. We grew to know our mother better, and now have a much greater appreciation for the dedication that empowered her, after doing the shopping and housework and cooking and driving everyone to classes, appointments, movies, scout meetings, and the dentist, to steal a few precious hours each day to sit at her typewriter and write.
After much discussion, we titled this book Let Me Tell You, after the only unfinished piece we used. We included it because we think the character Shirley created for it is so memorable—almost an early Merricat, the unreliable narrator of We Have Always Lived in the Castle—with a voice unlike any other. We think the book’s title encompasses all the material within, and it sounds almost as if Shirley were leaning confidentially toward the reader in a restaurant, whispering over the shrimp cocktail.
Shirley repeatedly said that when she wrote, she expected the reader to complete the experience of making fiction; she assumed a certain literacy from her reader, or at least the ability to pay attention, because she considered the writer and reader to be partners. With enormous care and energy, she honed her skill in a great variety of styles, with timeless characters and plots, creating memories for millions. We hope that this collection pleases her many fans, and new readers around the world.
Laurence Jackson Hyman
Sarah Hyman DeWitt
To the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Shirley Hardie Jackson and Stanley Edgar Hyman:
Miles Biggs Hyman, Gretchen Anne Cardinal Hyman, Shiloh Alexis Webster Elias, Maxwell Dervin Schnurer, Bodie Jackson Hyman, Millie Noyes Stephenson, Ethan Lazarus Webster Elias, Rubin Santiago Elias, Jamilah Sophia Parker, Nathaniel Nicholas Jackson Hyman, Juliette Maï Theresa Hyman, Charlotte Rose Josepha Corinne Hyman, Eliot Augustin Stanley Hyman, Rowan Newbold Stephenson, Freya Helen Stephenson, Indie Sphere Hyman, Sophie Joy Hyman, and Thomas Achita Hyman.
Acknowledgments
The editors wish to thank our brother, Barry Edgar Hyman, for his early editorial consultation and his help in collecting the drawings; our agent, Murray Weiss of Catalyst Literary Management; biographer Ruth Franklin; Alice Birney and the Library of Congress, for their careful stewardship of our parents’ extensive archives; and David Ebershoff, Caitlin McKenna, and Benjamin Dreyer at Random House for their invaluable help in refining this book.
BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
The Road Through the Wall
The Lottery and Other Stories
Hangsaman
Life Among the Savages
The Bird’s Nest
The Witchcraft of Salem Village
Raising Demons
The Sundial
The Haunting of Hill House
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
The Magic of Shirley Jackson
Come Along with Me
Just an Ordinary Day
Let Me Tell You
About the Editors
LAURENCE JACKSON HYMAN, the eldest child of Shirley Jackson and Stanley Edgar Hyman, is the author, editor, or co-editor of dozens of books and monographs.
SARAH HYMAN DEWITT is the third child of Shirley Jackson and Stanley Edgar Hyman. She is a performer, folksinger, and artist.