Joel Chandler

Joel Chandler Harris (1848–1908) was an American writer best known as the creator of the folk character Uncle Remus. While working for newspapers, he became familiar with the lore and dialects of enslaved African Americans. In 1879, his story "Tar-Baby" gained popularity, leading to a vogue for dialect literature.

Harris's Uncle Remus stories feature a wise, elderly Black man who tells tales to a plantation owner's son. These stories often feature animal characters like Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, who embody trickster archetypes common in African folklore. These tales, first published in Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings (1880), introduced many Euro-Americans to African American folktales, though their dialect can be challenging for modern readers.12