born April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Ala., U.S. U.S. novelist. The daughter of a lawyer, Lee attended the University of Alabama but left for New York City before obtaining a law degree. An editor helped her transform a series of short stories into the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Lee's only novel, it was nationally acclaimed, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, and was adapted into a memorable film in 1962. The novel's hero is the white lawyer Atticus Finch, whose just and compassionate acts include an unpopular defense of a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. The book continued to resonate into the 21st century
U.S. printers and publishers. The two oldest brothers, James (1795-1869) and John (1797-1875) established J. & J. Harper in 1817; their siblings Joseph (1801-70) and Fletcher (1806-77) joined in 1823 and 1825. The firm took the name Harper & Brothers in 1833. The company began publishing periodicals in 1850 with Harper's New Monthly Magazine (see Harper's Magazine), which was followed by Harper's Weekly (1857) and Harper's Bazaar (1867). In 1900 the business passed out of family hands. Two of the Harper magazines are still being published; the name Harper also survives in the international book-publishing firm HarperCollins
a town in West Virginia, where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet, that was the place of many battles during the American Civil War. Just before the war, an abolitionist (=someone who wants to stop slavery) called John Brown took control of the government weapons that were kept there and tried to get slaves to fight against their owners. He was caught and hanged for treason (=actions against your country)
Monthly magazine published in New York, N.Y., U.S., one of the oldest and most prestigious literary and opinion journals in the U.S. Founded in 1850 as Harper's New Monthly Magazine by the printing and publishing firm of the Harper brothers, it was a leader in publishing works by illustrious British and U.S. authors. By 1865 it had become the most successful periodical in the U.S. In the 1920s its format changed to that of a forum on public affairs, balanced with short stories. Financial problems began in the 1960s, and in 1980 its demise was averted by grants from a philanthropic organization, the MacArthur Foundation. Since 1976 it has been edited almost continuously by Lewis Lapham (b. 1935)
To dwell on or recur to a subject tediously or monotonously in speaking or in writing; to refer to something repeatedly or continually; usually with on or upon
A member of the string instrument family, the sub-category of unbowed strings It has the following stages of sound production: energy source: muscle vibrating element: the strings resonating chamber: the instrument's body
A harp is a large musical instrument consisting of a row of strings stretched from the top to the bottom of a frame. You play the harp by plucking the strings with your fingers. harp on about to talk about something continuously, especially in a way that is annoying or boring. Plucked stringed instrument in which the resonator, or belly, is perpendicular to the plane of the strings. Harps are roughly triangular. In early harps and many folk harps, the strings are strung between the resonating "body" and the "neck." Early harps and many folk harps lack the forepillar or column forming the third side of the triangle that characterizes frame harps; the column permits high string tension and higher-pitched tuning. Small, primitive harps date back to at least 3000 BC in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East. In Europe they became particularly important in Celtic societies. The large modern orchestral harp emerged in the 18th century. It has 47 strings and a range of almost seven octaves. It plays the entire chromatic (12-note) scale by means of seven pedals, each of which can alter the pitch of a note (in all octaves) by two semitones through tightening or relaxing the strings by turning a forklike projection against it; it is thus known as the double-action harp. Its massive resonator permits considerable volume of tone. See also Aeolian harp
The harp's strings are plucked, and its pitches are changed by means of pedals Its ethereal tone is easily recognizable The harp frequently plays broken chords called arpeggios
a chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck; the strings stretched between the neck and the soundbox are plucked with the fingers a pair of curved vertical supports for a lampshade come back to; "Don't dwell on the past"; "She is always harping on the same old things"
A large upright roughly triangular musical instrument consisting of a frame housing a graduated series of vertical strings, played by plucking with the fingers
A large, plucked stringed instrument that predates the piano The strings are plucked mechanically, distinguishing it from the piano in which they are struck with hammers
The harp is an ancient instrument It is a chordophone, usually triangular in shape having anywhere from 1 to 47 strings The strings are knotted perpendicular to the soundboard It is played by strumming or plucking