Source: Sad News: Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird has died aged 89
See book reviews on her most famous book: To Kill a Mockingbird
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2657.To_Kill_a_Mockingbird
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/17/review-to-kill-a-mockingbird-harper-lee
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/unbound/classrev/mocking.htm
http://classiclit.about.com/od/tokillamockingbird/fr/aa_tokill.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/bookrev/read.htm
…and still shrouded in mystery…
Yes, she was a friend and neighbour of that other great American writer, Truman Capote, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “In Cold Blood”. Such a pity she only had one great novel in her, but what a legacy, nevertheless!
Better one than none 😉 In Cold Blood is an account which made a huge impact on me. Apparently Capote said in an interview that his favourite book was Blixen’s Out Of Africa. Interesting, isn’t it? Also one of my all-time favourites!
Yes, I agree. “In Cold Blood” is a brilliant example of Creative Non-fiction: True stories well told, utilising fictional devices. Blixen’s book has one of my all-time favourite beginnings. It sets up the flavour of the whole book that follows in that one sentence.
Exactly, the sense of loss, the melancholy, the yearning are all there in that sentence.
sending you love and a hug, Anne
Same from me to you, dear Dagmar
There are numerous quotes collected from material written by Harper Lee or spoken by her in the interviews she so rarely gave. The novelist was famous for refusing interviews and appearances for the majority of her life. My favourite of her quotes is: “You see, more than a simple matter of putting down words, writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer.” – Interview with Roy Newquist, Counterpoints, 1964.
These words resonate with me … self-discipline … something I must acquire if I want to write well.
Thanks Harper Lee.
So true. Someone once said writing requires 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Yet the myth of the great writer/genius is so hard to dispel. I wonder why so many are drawn to it. Any ideas?
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