Scout's honour: to salute a literary masterpiece

After 50 years the Mockingbird still sings, writes Warwick McFadyen.

'Darling, I'm so sorry, you probably got up at the crack of dawn. We're dealing with major snow here and today was my last day before I fly out, and so I was trying to get everything taken care of. I've been digging for two days, busted up my knee and my shoulders, but anyway ..."

The voice on the line is apologetic, having missed the agreed interview time by four hours. The voice is from Richmond, Virginia, deep in snow and ice, frozen over by winter storms. It belongs to Mary Badham, who, as Jean Louise Finch, better known and loved as Scout, has to many become frozen in time for her role in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Badham grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Fifty years ago, the city was a synonym for racial injustice, its streets battlegrounds for riots. An image of a police dog attacking an African-American circled the world and became a de facto portrait of the city.

In her youthful innocence, Badham played a part in confronting the racism with her role in Mockingbird. Her portrayal of Scout resonated with millions.

It still does. And she still responds to it as strongly as she did as a 10-year-old in 1962 when, for three months, she became Jean Louise Finch, daughter of Atticus.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The novel is one of publishing's global phenomenons, selling an estimated 30 million copies. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and is one of the best-loved works in literature.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/scouts-honour-to-salute-a-literary-masterpiece-20100402-rjqr.html

Lee never did either.

Let's go, Mets!

http://www.neabigread.org/communities/?community_id=2084

Great flick. The event got me to read the book, and I loved it. The humor is so sly, and the themes much richer even than on film.