Writers Weekend, closing event. In association with Writing WA and Perth Festival. Sunday 25 February 2024.
Jane Smiley loves Shakespeare.
She studied his work at High School and University so much that she calls him Uncle Bill.
Interviewed by Will Yeoman of Writers WA, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author spoke of adapting King Lear into her novel, A Thousand Acres (for which she won the Pulitzer in 1992) which allowed her to give the three sisters more say in the outcome of their lives.
A 1997 film was based on the novel, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards.