UNC Asheville will host a talk on "To Kill a Mockingbird: An African-American Perspective on the Novel and the Times" by noted African-American literature scholar Trudier Harris at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 29, in UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union, Mountain Suites. A reception and book-signing will follow her talk. The event is free and open to the public.

Harris is a noted lecturer and author in African-American literature and folklore. She is the editor of "The Oxford Companion to African-American Literature" and has written a number of books, including "Summer Snow: Reflections from a Black Daughter of the South" and "South of Tradition: Essays on African-American Literature." Harris, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, has lectured throughout North America, Jamaica and Europe.

The event is co-sponsored by The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. The program is designed to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment throughout the country.

For more information, call Anita White-Carter, UNC Asheville librarian and associate professor, at 828/251-6434.