Böcker av Wayne Flynt

An indelible epistolary portrait of Harper Lee, one of the most beloved authors in the canon of American literature.The violent racism of the American South drove Wayne Flynt away from his home state of Alabama, but the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's classic novel about courage, community, and equality, inspired him to return in the early 1960s and craft a career documenting and teaching Alabama history. His writing resonated with many Alabamians, in particular three sisters: Louise, Alice, and Nelle Harper Lee. The two families first met in 1983, and a mutual respect and affection for the state's history and literature matured into a deep friendship among them. Wayne Flynt and Nelle Harper Lee began writing to each other while she was living in New York?heartfelt, insightful, and humorous letters in which they swapped stories, information, and opinions on topics, including their families, books, social values, health concerns, and even their fears and accomplishments. Though their earliest missives began formally??Dear Dr. Flynt??as the years passed, their exchanges became more intimate and emotional, opening with ?Dear Friend? and closing with ?I love you, Nelle.? This is a remarkable compendium of a correspondence that lasted for a quarter century?until Harper Lee's death in February 2016?and it offers an incisive and compelling look into the mind, heart, and work of one of the most admired authors in modern literary history.

"Imagine sitting with an esteemed writer on his or her front porch somewhere in the world and swapping life stories. Dr. Wayne Flynt got the opportunity to do just this with Nelle Harper Lee. In a friendship that blossomed over a dozen years starting when Lee relocated back to Alabama after having had a stroke, Flynt and his wife Dartie became regular visitors at the assisted living facility that was Lee's new home. And there the conversation began. It began where it always begins with Southern storytellers, with an invitation to "Come in, sit down, and stay a while." The stories exchanged ranged widely over the topics of Alabama history, Alabama folklore, family genealogy, and American literature, of course. On the way from beginning to end there were many detours: talks about Huntingdon College; The University of Alabama; New York City; the United Kingdom; Garden City, Kansas; and Mobile, Alabama, to name just a few. Wayne and his wife were often joined by Alice Lee, the oldest Lee sister, a living encyclopedia on the subject of family genealogy, and middle sister Louise Lee Conner. The hours spent visiting, in intimate closeness, are still cherished by Wayne Flynt. They yielded revelations large and small, which have been shaped into Afternoons with Harper Lee. Part memoir, part biography, this book offers a unique window into the life and mind and preoccupations of one of America's best-loved writers. Flynt and Harper Lee and her sisters learned a great deal from each other, and though this is not a history book, their shared interest in Alabama and its history made this extraordinary work possible."--Jacket flap.

An indelible portrait of one of the most famous and beloved authors in the canon of American literature - a collection of letters between Harper Lee and one of her closest friends that reveals the famously private writer as never before, in her own words.

"The best sort of introductory study... packed with enlighteninginformation." -- The Times Literary SupplementPoor whiteshave been isolated from mainstream white Southern culture and have been in turnstereotyped as rednecks and Holy Rollers, discriminated against, and misunderstood.In their isolation, they have developed a unique subculture and defended it with atenacity and pride that puzzles and confuses the larger society. Written 25 yearsago, this book was one scholar's attempt to understand these people and theirculture. For this new edition, Wayne Flynt has provided a new retrospectiveintroduction and an up-to-date bibliography.