Harper Lee
Harper Lee
Nelle Harper Lee, better known by her pen name Harper Lee, was an American novelist widely known for To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960. Immediately successful, it won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Though Lee had only published this single book, in 2007 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. Additionally, Lee received numerous honorary degrees, though she declined to speak on those occasions. She...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth28 April 1926
CityMonroeville, AL
CountryUnited States of America
Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself.
I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told. I hadn’t realized it (the original book) had survived, so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation, I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.
I never expected any sort of success with 'Mockingbird'... I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement.
When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.
When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake.
We're paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple.
Are you proud of yourself tonight that you have insulted a total stranger whose circumstances you know nothing about?
I try to give'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.
Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'.
Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.
It's better to be silent than to be a fool.
It's not necessary to tell all you know.
I say guilt, gentlemen, because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society.
Try fighting with your head for a change... it's a good one, even if it does resist learning.