The day when Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” takes place

Today is the day when Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" (1948) takes place, with its bucolic opening sentence: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The story was first published in the New Yorker on 26 June 1948, to the shock of many readers; as I have learned in classes, it still triggers discussion today. Although I hope that this day starts as beautifully for you as it has for me this morning in Basel, let's hope that it doesn't end for us as it does in the story. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 27 June 2023)