{"424271":{"#nid":"424271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Harper Lee Teaches Another Lesson","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETuesday\u2019s publication of Harper Lee\u2019s newly discovered novel has been hailed as a historical literary event. Written in the mid-1950s, \u003Cem\u003EGo Set a Watchman\u003C\/em\u003E was the novel Lee submitted to publishers before \u003Cem\u003ETo Kill a Mockingbird\u003C\/em\u003E. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/bio\/head\u0022\u003EKaren Head\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/strong\u003E, and director of the Communication Center, said the new work is a rare gift for readers and writers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithout question, Harper Lee\u2019s \u003Cem\u003ETo Kill a Mockingbird\u003C\/em\u003E is one of America\u2019s great novels \u2014 one that is read and taught throughout the world because of its importance, both for the excellence of the writing and for its important and universal themes, including loss of innocence (coming of age), gender inequity, courage in the face of adversity, prejudice, and racial injustice. While many critics will be closely examining what has been widely reported to be a very different representation of the main characters, what intrigues me most, both as a writer (a Southern one at that) and as a writing teacher, is the lesson of revision we are about to encounter with the release of \u003Cem\u003EGo Set a Watchman\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGo Set a Watchman\u003C\/em\u003E represents a rare look at a writer\u2019s process \u2014 the book being Lee\u2019s first attempt at telling the story of the denizens of Maycomb, Alabama. Reportedly Lee\u2019s editors returned her original manuscript, explaining they were more intrigued by sections that reflected the childhood of the main character, Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Lee purportedly extracted the sections about Jean Louise\u2019s childhood and rewrote the story to create the beloved novel we have known for over half a century.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis week marks our opportunity to compare the versions and learn some important lessons about the craft of writing. It is a rare gift to have the opportunity to do this kind of analysis. I suspect, once we have read the \u201cnew\u201d book, we will again be challenged by Lee to consider the human condition \u2014 reminding us how our struggles as individuals and as a society must be vigilantly examined and re-examined for us to overcome the problems we face.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOriginal post featured in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/amplifier.gatech.edu\/articles\/2015\/07\/harper-lee-teaches-another-lesson\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Amplifier\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe publication of Harper Lee\u2019s newly discovered novel has been hailed as a historical literary event. Karen Head comments on the rare gift for readers and writers in the \u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Tech Amplifier\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Karen Head writes that Harper Lee\u0027s \u0022Go Set a Watchman\u0022 is a rare gift for readers and writers."}],"uid":"27498","created_gmt":"2015-07-14 11:41:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:00","author":"Rachel Miles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"426691":{"id":"426691","type":"image","title":"Karen Head","body":null,"created":"1449254342","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:39:02","changed":"1475895165","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:45","alt":"Karen Head","file":{"fid":"202773","name":"karenhead.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/karenhead_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/karenhead_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":62252,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/karenhead_0.jpg?itok=LD1oM5Jw"}},"424261":{"id":"424261","type":"image","title":"Go Set a Watchman","body":null,"created":"1449254319","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:38:39","changed":"1475895162","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:42","alt":"Go Set a Watchman","file":{"fid":"202743","name":"go_set_a_watchman.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/go_set_a_watchman_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/go_set_a_watchman_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1292073,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/go_set_a_watchman_0.png?itok=6Ytwn6CV"}}},"media_ids":["426691","424261"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"134201","name":"Go Set a Watchman"},{"id":"134221","name":"Harper Lee"},{"id":"5201","name":"Karen Head"},{"id":"134211","name":"To Kill a Mockingbird"},{"id":"134231","name":"writing process"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Erebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}