Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches
by Joel Chandler Harris
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Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) was an American journalist, born in Eatonton, Georgia, who wrote the Uncle Remus stories, including: Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880), Nights with Uncle Remus (1881/1882), Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892), and Uncle Remus and the Little Boy (1905). The stories, based on the African-American oral storytelling tradition, were revolutionary in their use of dialect. They featured a trickster hero called Br er (Brother) Rabbit, who used his wits show more against adversity, though his efforts did not always succeed. Harris began publishing his stories in the Atlanta Constitution in 1879 at a time of great interest in the South and in freedmen. They became popular among both black and white readers in the North and South, not least because they presented an idealized view of race relations soon after the Civil War. Apart from Uncle Remus, Harris wrote several other collections of stories depicting rural life in Georgia, including Mingo and Other Sketches in Black and White (1884), Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches (1887) and Stories of Georgia (1896). show lessTags
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Joel Chandler Harris was born in Eatonton, Ga., on December 9, 1848. Deserted by his father at an early age, Harris dropped out of school and began working as a literary apprentice to help his mother make ends meet. Soon after, he was writing humorous pieces for several Georgia newspapers and in 1876, Harris joined the Staff of the Atlanta show more Constitution as an editor. Harris is best remembered for writing the Uncle Remus stories. Based on traditional African tales and folklore, the stories feature animal characters, such as Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox, who are endowed with human characteristics. Some of the Uncle Remus titles include Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings, Night with Uncle Remus, Uncle Remus and His Friends, and Uncle Remus and the Little Boy. After his death on July 3, 1908, Harris's home in Atlanta's West End was preserved as a museum called Wren's Nest. The museum got its name from a family of wrens that were found nesting in Harris's rickety old wooden mailbox. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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