Harper Lee (1926-2016)

Nelle Harper Lee was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966). An earlier draft of Mockingbird, set at a later date, Go Set a Watchman, was published in July 2015 as a sequel. A collection of her short stories and essays, The Land of Sweet Forever, was published on October 21, 2025.

Quotes

Daylight, in my mind, the night faded.
Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.
When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake!
Things are never as bad as they seem.
There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads--they couldn't be fair if they tried.
Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open.
You really never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
Before I can live with other folks, I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

Conscience
Delete the adjectives and [you'll] have the facts.

Facts
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.

Courage
I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.