Joel Chandler Harris

Joel Chandler Harris

Joel Chandler Harris (December 9,1848July 3, 1908) was an American journalist born in Eatonton, Georgia who wrote the Uncle Remus stories. [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-525&hl=y "Joel Chandler Harris"] , New Georgia Encyclopedia, notes he was born in 1845, not 1848. Accessed 8 Jul 2008] His stories gained popular success and included "Uncle Remus; His Songs and His Sayings. The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation." (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 Rabbit ("Brother" Rabbit), who used his wits against adversity, though his efforts did not always succeed. Br'er Rabbit is a direct interpretation of Yoruba tales of Hare, though some others posit Native American influences as well. [ That the People Might Live : Native American Literatures and Native American Community, p. 4] [ [http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/african-mythology.php?deity=HARE HARE: Infamous Trickster God] ]

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.

Paul Reuben wrote, “Joel Chandler Harris was a white man, born of poor parents, who at thirteen left home and became an apprentice to Joseph Addison Turner, a newspaper publisher and plantation owner. It is at this plantation, Turnwold, that Harris first heard the black folktales that were to make him famous.” Fact|Jul 2008|date=July 2008 In fact Harris went to work for Turner when he was sixteen, as he was born in 1845. It was an influential apprenticeship.

In "Mother Tongue", Bill Bryson described Harris as a “painfully shy newsman” who had a pronounced stammer and was very self-conscious about his illegitimate birth.

The contemporary critic H. L. Mencken held a less than favorable view of Harris. He wrote: "Once upon a time a Georgian printed a couple of books that attracted notice, but immediately it turned out that he was little more than an amanuensis for the local blacks--that his works were really the products, not of white Georgia, but of black Georgia. Writing afterward as a white man, he swiftly subsided into the fifth rank." [from "The Sahara of the Bozart"]

Late 20th century Black American writers looked at Harris from different points of view. Alice Walker accused Harris of "stealing a good part of my heritage" in a searing essay called "Uncle Remus, No Friend of Mine". [Alice Walker, "Uncle Remus, No Friend of Mine", "Southern Exposure" 9 (Summer 1981): 29-31.] Toni Morrison wrote a novel called "Tar Baby" based on the folktale recorded by Harris. In interviews, she claimed she learned the story from her family and owed no debt to Harris. Black folklorist Julius Lester holds a somewhat kinder view of Harris. He sees the Uncle Remus stories as important records of black folklore. He has rewritten many of the Harris stories in an effort to elevate the subversive elements over the racist ones.

Apart from "Uncle Remus", Harris wrote several other collections of stories depicting rural life in Georgia including "Free Joe and the Rest of the World".

In 1946, the Walt Disney Company produced a film based on Harris's work, called "Song of the South". While critically and commercially successful during its original release and re-releases, the company has not released it on home video.

The Wren's Nest, Harris' home in Atlanta, Georgia from 1881 until his death in 1908, is maintained as a National Historic Landmark.

Marriage and family

Harris married Mary Esther LaRose.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.geocities.com/oldsayville/brer.htm Robert Roosevelt's Brer Rabbit Stories]
* [http://www.bartleby.com/55/1.html Theodore Roosevelt on Brer Rabbit and his Uncle]
*A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/harris.html (Jan 3, 2003).
*cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07142b.htm|title=Joel Chandler Harris|work=Catholic Encyclopedia |accessdate=2007-02-18
* [http://www.wrensnestonline.com The Wren's Nest] , Harris's historic home in Atlanta, GA

Persondata
NAME=Harris, Joel Chandler
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=journalist, children's writer
DATE OF BIRTH=December 9,1848
PLACE OF BIRTH=Eatonton, Georgia
DATE OF DEATH=July 3, 1908
PLACE OF DEATH=


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  • Joel Chandler Harris — (Eatonton, Georgia, 9 de diciembre de 1845 – Atlanta, 3 de julio de 1908) fue un periodista, folklorista y escritor estadounidense, conocido sobre todo como autor de las Uncle Remus Stories o Historias del tío Remus …   Wikipedia Español

  • Joel Chandler Harris — (* 8. Dezember 1848 in Eatonton, Georgia; † 3. Juli 1908 in Atlanta) war ein US amerikanischer Journalist und Schriftsteller aus dem Bundesstaat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joel Chandler Harris —     Joel Chandler Harris     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Joel Chandler Harris     Folklorist, novelist, poet, journalist; born at Eatonton, Georgia, U.S.A., 1848; died at Atlanta, Georgia, 3 July, 1908. Chiefly known for his stories of negro folk… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Joel Chandler Harris — (9 décembre 1845 – 3 juillet 1908) est un journaliste, auteur de fiction et de folklore américain, principalement connu pour les Contes de l Oncle Rémus. Harris est né à Eatonton en Géorgie où il travailla comme …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Joel Chandler Harris House — Infobox nrhp2 | name =Joel Chandler Harris House nrhp type = nhl = yes caption = HABS photo from 1985 location= Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd., SW, Atlanta, Georgia lat degrees = 33 lat minutes = 44 lat seconds = 14 lat direction = N long degrees = 84… …   Wikipedia

  • Joel Chandler Harris Home — The Joel Chandler Harris Home, commonly known as the Wren s Nest, is a Queen Anne style farmhouse in Atlanta, Georgia built in 1870. It was home to Joel Chandler Harris, editor of the Atlanta Constitution and author of the Uncle Remus Tales ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Joel Chandler Harris — noun United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848 1908) • Syn: ↑Harris, ↑Joel Harris • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author …   Useful english dictionary

  • Harris,Joel Chandler — Harris, Joel Chandler. 1848 1908. American writer and journalist who wrote Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880) and its many sequels. * * * …   Universalium

  • Harris, Joel Chandler — • Folklorist, novelist, poet, journalist; born at Eatonton, Georgia, U.S.A., 1848; died at Atlanta, Georgia, 3 July, 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Harris, Joel Chandler — born Dec. 9, 1848, Eatonton, Ga., U.S. died July 3, 1908, Atlanta, Ga. U.S. writer. He became known as a humorist in his pieces for various newspapers, including (1876–1900) the Atlanta Constitution. He created a vogue for a distinct type of… …   Universalium

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