Some professors are unsure of the timing of the announcement that a lost manuscript found after 55 years is to be published by the 88-year-old Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

It was announced last Tuesday that “Go Set a Watchman,” Lee’s sequel of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” would be available to the public on July 14, according to a Feb. 3 Washington Post article. “Go Set a Watchman” is the sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but Lee wrote it prior to the famous novel.

Harvey Teres, an English and textual studies professor at Syracuse University, said the decision to publish “Go Set a Watchman” is puzzling. Like many others, he said many literary experts and fans alike are asking the question, “Why now?”

“We’ll have to see how good (‘Go Set a Watchman’) is and if it stands up to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” Teres said. “But for now it’s nice to see that so many people are talking about a novel. This doesn’t happen very often in the United States. It would be even nicer, though, if people were all talking about a novel they’ve read.”

Teres said he thinks that the publishing of a sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird” will only add to the original’s popularity and luster. He found that in a quick poll of his students, all of them read the novel in middle school or high school. Teres said he thinks that while “To Kill a Mockingbird” is an “essential American novel,” it is more popular amongst ordinary readers than critics.

Silvio Torres-Saillant, an English and textual studies professor, said an author who has a great work and publishes another work after a long period of inactivity is very rare.

“Saying this book will be an ‘instant classic’ is fraudulent. That can only be tested by time,” Torres-Saillant said. “I hope it will survive past the curiosity stage.”

Torres-Saillant said “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a very serious book that was released in a time of racial tension and prejudice in the law.

“It is a very delicate and dangerous topic. (Lee) did it at the time when it was most needed,” he said.

Torres-Saillant said he sees the large gap between Lee’s novels as a suggestion about literary careers. He said that art requires time and attention and should not be published when the public says the next work is due. He said, “it’s important to move away from the industrial view of releasing books.”

Dana Spiotta, an English and textual studies professor, said she thinks it will be fascinating to see the origins of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” as both a reader and an author. Although readers may be disappointed to have waited 55 years for “Go Set a Watchman,” she said she thinks that there will be great points in the book.

“I am optimistic. It can only be a good thing for literature,” Spiotta said. “This is definitely unprecedented. The expectations may be so high that the reader may be let down. But, there will be a lot of interest in it for sure.”

The conversation that the finding of “Go Set a Watchman” has sparked is encouraging to Teres, who said he thinks the discussion will make people consider why they like or dislike “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“It tells us what social media and popular culture are capable of,” Teres said. “For all the gossip and chit-chat, I imagine hundreds of thousands will want to read ‘Go Set a Watchman’ and maybe re-read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ That’s not a bad thing, unless of course ‘Go Set a Watchman’ turns out to be a clunker.”

Published on February 10, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu