Although Nelle Harper Lee has only written one novel,
To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM), she still stands as one of the most influential authors in
America, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the
United States for Literature in 2007. Born and raised in
Monroeville, Alabama, her book deals with the issues of racism and prejudice she observed during her childhood. She was the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee – names that you might have noticed were incorporated into her work. Similar to the character Atticus in
TKAM, her own father was a lawyer who served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938, and she herself was like the main character, Scout: an avid reader and tomboy in her childhood. Lee initially developed her interest in English literature during high school. In college, entered a law program but soon found that her true calling was to write. She left college early for
New York, hoping to follow her dream. She struggled for several years, working as a ticket agent for two airlines before her friends helped her achieve her goal. In Christmas 1956, Mr. and Mrs. Brown gave her the boost to become a writer – supporting her for one year so that she could work on writing a novel fulltime, and helping her find an agent, Maurice Crain. Thanks to all their support, Harper Lee was able to publish her manuscript, which has since become one of the most widely-read pieces of American literature.
References
http://www.harperlee.com/bio.htm
http://www.biography.com/articles/Harper-Lee-9377021
http://www.nndb.com/people/572/000025497/
I agree with you that Harper Lee is one of the most influential current-day American author. It is amazing that Ms. Lee has based so much of her novel on specifics of her life and yet everyone seems to be able to relate to it. Not all of us can say that they wrote a book based on their own experiences and it won the Pulitzer Prize. It is sad, however that she could not deal with her new found fame after the publication of TKAM, for it would have been enjoyable to read more of her works.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Mr. and Mrs. Brown afforded supporting Harper Lee for a year. They must have really preemptively seen her gift just as we all now see it today. It takes a huge amount of generosity to give a gift so massive in cost and dedication. Without them, Lee may never have written "To Kill a Mockingbird." The Browns have gone fairly unappreciated for their contribution, which has given us one of the greatest works of American literature.
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