In 1960 Harper Lee published what was to become one of the most popular novels of the second half of the 20th century in English - To Kill a Mockingbird. Since then, though a great future in literature was hinted at by many a reviewer (and by even more avid readers who still, almost fifty years later, eagerly await the publication of a new book), her entire literary output has been three magazine articles. It seems, however, that this isn't exactly a case of writer's block, but instead a decision not to write, perhaps even making a statement through not writing.

In one of Lee's three post-Mockingbird articles, When Children Discover America, she seems to suggest that we have very little to tell, because only through (self) discovery do we learn to know anything. And what is there to know? The rather bland details of day-to-day life. One gets the impression that when Lee reached these conclusions she found that the only proper course of action was simply not to write anything, because by writing she would, almost by definition, be emphasizing those small details which she hoped would remain untouched, protected from the spotlights.