Have you heard? This past Sunday Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, turned 50 years old! The book was first published on July 11, 1960 and quickly became one of the most successful and acclaimed novels in America.
It has never been out of print in its 50-year lifetime and began to be studied in schools as early as 1963! A 2008 survey revealed that it is still the most commonly read book by American students in grades 9-12. And most of us were probably exposed to To Kill A Mockingbird in Canadian schools at some point — even though, according to the American Library Association, it was the 21st most-challenged book from 2000-2009, and was taken off a Brampton school's reading list just last year.
To Kill A Mockingbird depicts life in a fictional town in Alabama during the Great Depression. At this time in the deep south of the United States, racism was a fact of life, and everyone was exposed to it to some degree. The protagonist of the book is Scout Finch, a youg girl raised, with her brother, by a principled single father. Much of the first part of the book surrounds Scout, her brother Jem and their friend Dill and their life, bu the book then delves into a legal case in which Scout and Jem's father, Atticus, is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, against a charge of rape.
Most of the controversy surrounding To Kill A Mockingbird centres on its unflinching depiction of racism, including words and attitudes that are no longer acceptable. But we have to remember that this portrayal of the people of small-town Alabama was incredibly accurate to the time (so much so that many of Harper Lee's neighbours complained of finding themselves in the book!). To Kill A Mockingbird has been cited as an influence on the American Civil Rights movement and won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize. It is by no means a perfect, critique-proof book, but no such book could ever exist. There's no denying that it remains an incredibly important and influential book to thousands of readers, and remains a wonderful teaching tool.
Keep reading past the jump to see a round-up of our favourite pieces about To Kill A Mockingbird's 50th anniversary from around the web...
Looking for some praiseworthy poetry performances in Toronto next week? Look no further than the 
Wednesday, June 9 was a great night for the NHT! community. Tons of friends and three fabulous S.W.A.T. Writers-in-Residence crowded into the Free Times Cafe for an evening of new poetry and prose.
If you're looking for some great new books to fill up your summer you HAVE to check out the 
With plenty of lead time, NOW HEAR THIS! draws your attention to a fun, frantic contest set to hit Toronto (and the international writing community) on Labour Day weekend. That's right: this is 49 days notice — but we want to give your creative juices time to flow, simmer and, ultimately, boil over. We hope you'll be raring to write by September 4, 2010!
Hear this, friends: the Scream Literary Festival is officially on!
Happy summer from NHT!
On Wednesday, June 9, NOW HEAR THIS! and about 50 of our friends got together at the Free Times Cafe for HEAR/HEAR Reading Series Lucky Number 7. Three literary dynamos (a.k.a. fantastic new S.W.A.T. Writers-in-Residence 
If you're on twitter like we are (you can follow us 
Faithful blog readers, don't forget to show your lovely faces at tonight's HEAR/HEAR Reading Series event! Doors open at 6:30 at the