Wed 22 Aug 2007
Submitted from YOUR NEW REALITY
In 1961, Harper Lee published her first and only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Since then, she has started and abandoned a number of books, picked up a Nobel Prize, given a few private speeches, wrote a letter to Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, O, on why she prefers books to the internet, and generally kept a low profile. In the 45 years since To Kill A Mockingbird was published, it has sold an astounding 30 million copies.
Harper Lee has been invited to literally thousands of book festivals and ceremonial gatherings, but she has never given a public speech at any such event.
But finally Harper Lee has broken her silence.
On Monday, Lee appeared at a ceremony to honour great Alabamians (she still lives in Monroeville, Alabama) and was invited to address the crowd.
Here’s her speech in full :
“Well it’s better to be silent than to be a fool.”
