Douglas Knight, former Duke president, dies Sunday

109th's Return 
One More Battle To Fight 
Troops Back From The War Zone Will Face Readjustment, But There Will Be
Sources Of Help.

By MARQUES G. HARPER mharper@leader.net
 Sunday, January 23, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 5F 





At three points in her life, Susan Turrell has picked up, read and reread
author Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The first time she was about 15 and living in the South. The second time
was after she moved to the Tunkhannock area about two decades ago. And her
latest encounter with the best-selling novel was a couple of weeks ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Why read a book three times? Turrell says each time she read "To Kill a
Mockingbird," a book largely about family, race and humanity, she learned
something new about the bigger story: life in general. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now, more than 40 years after its publication, the popular book, which is
required reading in some school districts in the country, will be discovered
and rediscovered throughout the region. It will play the leading role in a
February reading project that will partner the Tunkhannock Public Library and
the Dietrich Theater, also in Tunkhannock. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's such a great time of the year for reading," says Turrell, director of
Tunkhannock's library. "And this is a book that I think appeals to boys and
girls and men and women. It's a classic. It's sort of timeless." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Dietrich received a $2,780 grant from the Pennsylvania Humanities
Council for the project, called "Wyoming County Reads: One County, One Book,
One Movie." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The money is being used to give out free copies of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
and for a series of discussions about the book and a double screening of the
novel's film adaptation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Claire Lawrence, a spokeswoman for the state's humanities council, calls
the partnership between the library and the movie theater/culture center
innovative. Recently, the council, Lawrence says, has been trying to broaden
its audience and reach out to rural areas and inner-city communities, so the
"Mockingbird" project was the perfect way to meet one of the council's
objectives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At this point, enthusiasm about the initial project is so high that
officials for the Dietrich and the library are expanding the program and
giving their efforts a more regional spin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So far, more than 165 copies of "To Kill a Mockingbird" have been given out
in parts of Wyoming County, and several schools in the area have asked to
participate in the project. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Initially, the project partners thought the program would attract only a
few dozen people. With the free book supply running low, a local bar
association has said it would like to buy extra copies to give out. And the
Scranton Public Library offered 50 copies of the book to help meet the demand. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Margie Young, the Dietrich's program director, says, "We're trying to find
as many sources for books as we can." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To continue the momentum, the partners also plan to hang fliers in the
Tunkhannock area that read "Got Your Book?" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've never done anything like this before," Turrell says. "The response
has been fabulous. This is not a big city. Wyoming County is a small, rural
county. And people are coming in in droves. There certainly are some wonderful
lessons to learn from the book. I hope a lot of people who read the book come
to at least one of the discussions." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With the heavy interest among readers, Young says, "We hope that we can
find the funding to do it every February. February is such a wonderful month
to do something because of the weather. It has been quite wonderful to see the
response." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Here's how the reading assignments will go: "To Kill a Mockingbird" will be
discussed in chapter sections each week of February, starting Feb. 2, at the
public library on Tioga Street. Warren Bareiss, an adjunct communication
professor at Wilkes University, will lead the discussions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The reading program will end Feb. 24 with a discussion and the Dietrich
screenings of the black-and-white film adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The popular film stars the late Gregory Peck. The actor won an Oscar for
his portrayal of the strong-minded lawyer and loving widowed father of two,
Atticus Finch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "To Kill a Mockingbird," which many consider a classic read of the 20th
century, ultimately tells the story of small-town life in Alabama and the
turmoil bred through racism and stereotypes as a black man is accused of
raping a young white woman in the segregated community. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 1957, as Nellee Harper Lee's biography goes, the author, who has became
a bit of a recluse, submitted a manuscript to her publisher and was told it
read too much like a bunch of loosely connected stories. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lee, who doesn't grant interviews and spends her time in New York and
Alabama, spent two years on the manuscript's revision and came away with the
novel as it is today. Lee is a descendant of Civil War Confederate general
Robert E. Lee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The popularity of "To Kill a Mockingbird" has continued to grow over the
years as millions of high school students are assigned to read Lee's only
published novel, which deals with integrity, love and humanity. The novel,
which has been translated into more than 40 languages, continues to be a best
seller, with sales of more than 30 million copies worldwide, and a favorite
among everyday people and celebrities. Bruce Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore
named their daughter, Scout, after Lee's narrator, Scout Finch. And talk-show
queen Oprah Winfrey ranks "To Kill a Mockingbird" as one of her all-time
favorite books. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A few years ago, the novel was selected for reading projects in the city of
Chicago and other spots in the country. In recent years, it was green-lighted
for a reading program at the Scranton Public Library. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As for why "To Kill a Mockingbird" was selected in Wyoming County, the
Dietrich's Young says, "It's such a human story. It has so many elements from
the father raising two children on his own to the whole issue of stereotypes
and overcoming beliefs about people that really aren't justified at all. It's
a very accessible book. It's an easy read, but it makes you think." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 GOT YOUR BOOK? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's such a great time of the year for reading. And this is a book that I
think appeals to boys and girls and men and women. It's a classic. It's sort
of timeless." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`mockingbird's' Appeal Endures