FREDONIA, N.Y.—Feb. 16, 2009—In conjunction with the “Big Read” program, coordinated on campus by The Daniel A. Reed Library, the University Bookstore is now selling Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” for $7.99.
This classic 1960 American novel has been named this year’s selection for the Big Read campaign. It played a major role in the way racism was viewed and discussed in this country throughout the 1960s, and particularly challenged a number of Southern ideals on the matter of social injustice. It was quickly adapted into on Oscar-winning movie in 1962, starring Gregory Peck.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” was chosen for this year’s program, created by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Reed Library, in cooperation with the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System and the NEA, is sponsoring the second Big Read program across both Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. Last year’s selection was Ray Bradbury’s classic 1953 novel of censorship and defiance, “Fahrenheit 451.”
