Hilma Wolitzer | Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket

Free Library Podcast

In conversation with Meg Wolitzer An ''American literary treasure'' (The Boston Globe), Hilma Wolitzer is the author of the novels In the Flesh, The Doctor's Daughter, and Ending, which served as the inspiration for Bob Fosse's celebrated film All That Jazz. Her other work includes four children's books, a nonfiction account of fiction workshops, two screenplay adaptations of her novels, and stories and reviews published in Esquire, The New York Times, and Ploughshares, among other periodicals. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, she has taught writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Columbia University, and New York University. Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket is a career-spanning collection of Wolitzer's short stories, including the title story, which was her first published work, that catapulted her from suburban homemaker to ''poet of domestic detail'' (Ms.). Hilma Wolitzer's daughter, bestselling novelist Meg Wolitzer, is the author of 14 novels, including The Wife, The Position, and The Female Persuasion. She has taught writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Princeton University, and Skidmore College. Her work has been adapted into three feature films. (recorded 9/29/2021)