Harris, Joel Chandler

Harris, Joel Chandler (b. near Eatonton, Ga., 9 December 1848; d. Atlanta, Ga., 3 July 1908) He was one of the most talented regional humorists in the late 19th century. Writing in the Atlanta Constitution, he won national fame with his “Uncle Remus Stories,” such as the “Tar-Baby” tale. His first collection, Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings (1880), achieved widespread commercial success, and new volumes appeared regularly until 1918. Along with Mark Twain, Harris was one of the two authors most responsible for pioneering the realistic use of folk dialects in US literature.