Carson McCullers: The Lonely Hunter

Charles Ruas interviews biographer, Virginia S. Carr about her book and research into the life of the American writer, Carson McCullers. Most often characterized as an author of Southern Gothic literature and a contemporary of Truman Capote, Harper Lee, and Tennessee Williams; McCullers led a life of intimacy and isolation, two themes also found frequently in her written work. Many even described her as an emotionally distressed genius with a death wish. Her husband, Reeves McCullers (also a writer) was no different, and together they were known as a couple of fraught emotions. While Carson surrounded herself with other literary and creative personalities, she sought to remain detached from reality, believing that a woman was wholly responsible for herself and herself alone. Ruas and Carr also discuss the craft of the biography and how to approach it for a posthumous figure.

A Georgia native, Carson McCullers (1917-1967) was a novelist and poet. Throughout her career, her work was often associated with the American South, despite having lived much of her adult life abroad and in New York. Several of her works were made into films, including: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter with Allan Arkin and Reflections in a Golden Eye, which starred Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. Her novel, The Member of the Wedding, was adapted into a successful Broadway play in 1950.

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