Weekend Writing: Celebrating Harper Lee

There are so many authors I love, but Harper Lee is a special one for me. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird in my high-school freshman English class, and I absolutely loved it. It was the first book I read that focused heavily on race and seeking justice. I constantly find myself in love with new books, and To Kill a Mockingbird was definitely on my list of books I will never forget.

Harper Lee (photo/NPR)

Today is Harper Lee's birthday. She was born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, where she was the youngest of four children to Frances (Finch) Cunningham and Amasa Coleman Lee. Her first name, Nelle, was her grandmother's name spelled backward (Ellen), and she used that name. Harper Lee was only her pen name, but to the whole world many, many years later, she would forever only be remembered as Harper Lee.

It's no surprise that her father was the inspiration for Atticus Finch, the father figure in To Kill a Mockingbird. Amasa Lee was a former newspaper editor, and proprietor, where he studied law and served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. Before he became a title lawyer, he once defended two black men accused of murdering a white storekeeper. Amasa lost the trial, just like Atticus loses the trial in Lee's famous novel.

Harper Lee (photo/Stones2Milestons Inc)

While a student at the Monroe County High School, Lee fell in love with English literature. She went on to attend the then all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery for just one year and then transferred to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where she studied law for many years and wrote for the university's newspaper. It seems she wanted to fall in her father's footsteps, but she didn't complete the degree. Her father encouraged her to pursue a degree in legal studies, even so much as paying her way to study at Oxford University in England. But despite all of this, it just wasn't in the cards for Harper Lee to be a lawyer.

No, she was destined to become an award-winning author.

In 1949, Lee moved to New York City--a city so different from her beloved Monroeville, Alabama--to work as an airline reservation agent. On the side, she wrote fiction and eventually found herself an agent in 1956. The following month, she received a gift of a year's wages from her friends with a note, "You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas."

Can you imagine receiving a gift like that?

In the spring of 1957, 31-year-old Lee delivered a manuscript for Go Set a Watchman to her agent to send out to literary publishers. Everyone was impressed with the quality, but publisher Tay Hohoff eventually decided it wasn't fit for publication...It was close, but not quite there.

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
(photo/Wikipedia).

Hohoff worked with Lee until the book was finally polished in its final form, and the title had been changed to To Kill a Mockingbird. The book was published on July 11, 1960--under the name Harper Lee--and it became an immediate bestseller. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 and it remains as a bestseller to this date.

 Critics comment about the similarities between Lee and her protagonist, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Much like Lee, Scout is a tomboy and is the daughter of a respected Alabama attorney. Scout's friend, Dill, is even inspired by Lee's real-life childhood friend and neighbor, the famous Truman Capote (who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's). They were definitely companions for life--helping each other in their careers.

But after completing To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee lived a life of seclusion. She didn't participate in interviews or make public appearances, and she didn't publish anything after her first novel--except a few short stories--until 2015 when a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird--Go Set a Watchman--was released. So many people thought she wasn't a part of the public eye because she was writing new projects. Maybe that's true, but as far as we know, she just wanted to live a simple life.

In 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird was made into an Academy Award-winning film starring Gregory Peck. Lee worked on the film and became friends with Peck. I have watched the film a few times and Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch is exactly the way I imagined. No wonder he earned an Oscar for his performance, and Lee was happy with the film, as well. She said, "I think it is one of the best translations of a book to film ever made."

And she may be just right on that.

Gregory Peck in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (photo/nerdist.com).

Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman"
(photo/Goodreads).

As I mentioned, Lee didn't publish anything from 1960 to 2015. In 2015, Go Set a Watchman was published as a sequel to her iconic book, but critics weren't too pleased with it. I admit I couldn't get into the book. Maybe after reading To Kill a Mockingbird and loving it for so many years, it was difficult to compare a new book to the classic.

There were speculation and controversy over if Lee even wanted the book to be published. In 2015, she was in a nursing home, nearly blind and deaf. She would sign anything that was placed in front of her. Did she know what she signing? Others say she was happy with the publication, but others believe this was a form of abuse.

I guess this is a case where we will never know the truth, because on February 19, 2016, Harper Lee passed away in her sleep at 89 years old in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama. She died peacefully--just like the way she lived her life.

Harper Lee (photo/Los Angeles Times)

We should always remember Harper Lee. She provided one of the most important works of literature in the 20th century...and characters we love so much. Atticus, Scout, Jem, Dill...We love them all. Even Boo Radley!

She may have lived a life of seclusion and privacy, but we should never forget Harper Lee. Her writing is beautiful, eloquent, and timeless. She wrote about racial diversity and injustice...concepts we continue to face today. It's still important to read her work after all these years.

Let's remember and celebrate her today...and learn to consider things from another person's point of view. Just like she taught us.

-KJL-