In the 50th anniversary year of its publication, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been named the Vermont Reads 2011 book by the Vermont Humanities Council.
The classic novel is the latest pick for VHC's statewide one-book community reading program that began in 2003.
Published in 1960, winner of the Pulitzer Prize the following year, and inspiration for an Academy Award-winning film, To Kill a Mockingbird tells the intertwined stories of some of the most unforgettable characters in American fiction. The novel is well known as a story of innocence, prejudice, parental love, and moral development, but also one of integrity and courage.
Communities around the state will have the opportunity to bring people together to read, discuss, and build activities around the book. Vermont Reads promotes community-building, open dialogue, intergenerational exchange, a focus on the humanities, and literacy. In 2011, readers will have the chance to explore a perennially relevant story about the moral awakening of a young girl that parallels the moral reawakening of a country.
“In the 50 years since its publication, To Kill a Mockingbird has become an American classic,” said Mark Fitzsimmons, director of VHC's Vermont Reads program. “It's in 40 languages, and it is estimated that more than 30 million copies have been sold worldwide. It has become a definitive statement about America and our racial history and also a book of great compassion and tenderness. For many of us, it was the book that opened us to the rich complexities of literature.”
To Kill a Mockingbird explores themes that invite thought, discussion, and extension activities, such as race relations in the Jim Crow South and today, the history of the American Civil Rights movement, the importance of education and literacy, family history and relationships, and civic responsibility. The book holds much food for thought and countless lessons for readers of all ages.
“Adults and teens can read the book with equal enthusiasm. The book's themes will enrich and inspire a multi-generational exchange, which is one of the hallmarks of Vermont Reads,” said Fitzsimmons. “Because of the book's accessibility and popularity with younger readers, I think many people tend to underestimate the book. It is a book to be reckoned with, and reread and re-appreciated with the wisdom and perspective that comes with age.”
Vermont Reads activities in past years have included book discussions, read-a-thons, staged dramatic readings, art projects and exhibits, community potlucks, oral history presentations, writing contests, field trips, and scrapbook making. This year, communities reading To Kill a Mockingbird can also include theater productions, screenings of the Oscar-winning film, panel discussions with historians, church leaders, lawyers, and others familiar with the Civil Rights movement, and more.
To Kill a Mockingbird's author, Harper Lee, was born in 1926 in the small town of Monroeville, Ala. To Kill a Mockingbird is her only novel. At the University of Alabama, Lee honed her writing skills in the school's newspaper and its humor magazine. She pursued law studies as an undergraduate until dropping out in her senior year to move to New York to pursue her writing.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in July 1960 to immediate acclaim. A Book-of-the-Month Club and Literary Guild selection, it won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize. The 1962 film based on the book won four Academy Awards.
Lee has returned to Monroeville after many years of splitting her time between New York City and Monroeville. In the years since Mockingbird's publication, she is reportedly active in church and the community in Monroeville, but shuns publicity; she has not granted an in-depth interview since the mid-1960s.
NRG Systems of Hinesburg is the underwriter of the 2011 Vermont Reads program; they have underwritten the program since 2007. The media partner is Vermont Public Radio. VPR will air features on To Kill a Mockingbird and Harper Lee during 2011.
Each year, more than 60 towns and cities - and tens of thousands of people - take part in Vermont Reads. Eighty-eight communities took part in 2010.
Deadlines for applying are Nov. 17 and May 16. Communities will receive up to 75 books, based on the strength of their application, as well as multiple resource and publicity materials. To apply, visit www.vermonthumanities.org or contact Mark Fitzsimmons at [email protected] or call 802-262-2626, ext. 306.