Editing Joel Chandler Harris (section)

=== Atlanta: 1876–1908 ===
In 1876 Harris was hired by [[Henry W. Grady]] at ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|The Atlanta Constitution]]'', where he would remain for the next 24 years. He worked with other journalists including [[Frank Lebby Stanton]], who was in turn an associate of [[James Whitcomb Riley]].<ref>Stanton joined the ''Atlanta Constitution'' in 1889, having been recruited by Harris and Grady.</ref> Chandler supported the racial reconciliation envisioned by Grady. He often took the mule-drawn trolley to work, picked up his assignments, and brought them home to complete. He wrote for the ''Constitution'' until 1900.

In addition, he published local-color stories in magazines such as ''[[Scribner's Monthly|Scribner's]]'', ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]]'', and ''[[Century Magazine|The Century]]''.<ref name="Bickley, 38"/>

====Uncle Remus stories and later years====
Not long after taking the newspaper appointment, Harris began writing the Uncle Remus stories as a serial to "preserve in permanent shape those curious mementoes of a period that will no doubt be sadly misrepresented by historians of the future."<ref name="Bickley, 38">[[#Bickley|Bickley]], 38</ref> The tales were reprinted across the United States, and Harris was approached by publisher [[D. Appleton and Company]] to compile them for a book.

''[[Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings]]'' was published near the end of 1880. Hundreds of newspapers reviewed the best-seller, and Harris received national attention. Of the press and attention [[Walter Hines Page]] noted, "Joe Harris does not appreciate Joel Chandler Harris."<ref>Page, Walter Hines. "The New South." ''Boston Post,'' September 28, 1881</ref>
[[File:Wrens nest joel chandler harris home.JPG|thumb|right|[[Joel Chandler Harris House|The Wren's Nest]]]]
Royalties from the book were modest, but allowed Harris to rent a six-room house in [[West End (Atlanta)|West End]], an unincorporated village on the outskirts of Atlanta, to accommodate his growing family. Two years later Harris bought the house and hired the architect George Humphries to transform the farmhouse into a [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne Victorian]] in the [[Eastlake movement|Eastlake style]]. The home, soon thereafter called [[Joel Chandler Harris House|The Wren's Nest]], was where Harris spent most of his time.

Harris preferred to write at the Wren's Nest. He published prodigiously throughout the 1880s and 1890s, trying his hand at novels, children's literature, and a translation of French folklore. Yet he rarely strayed from home and work during this time. He chose to stay close to his family and his gardening. Harris and his wife Essie had seven more children in Atlanta, with a total of six (out of nine) surviving past childhood.

By the late 1890s, Harris was tired of the newspaper grind and suffered from health problems, likely stemming from alcoholism. At the same time, he grew more comfortable with his creative persona.[[File:Joel Chandler Harris by Lucy May Stanton.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|''Joel Chandler Harris, c. 1905'']]

Harris retired from the ''Constitution'' in 1900. He continued experimenting with novels and wrote articles for outlets such as ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]''. Still, he remained close to home, refusing to travel to accept honorary degrees from the [[University of Pennsylvania]] and Emory College (now [[Emory University]]).{{clarify |date=June 2017 |reason=odd comparison, as UP was 800 miles away but Emory only 37 miles}} In 1905 Harris was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]].

Harris traveled to accept an invitation to the White House by [[Theodore Roosevelt|President Theodore Roosevelt]]. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had said, "Presidents may come and presidents may go, but Uncle Remus stays put. Georgia has done a great many things for the Union, but she has never done more than when she gave Mr. Joel Chandler Harris to American literature."<ref>[[#Bickley|Bickley]], 59.</ref>

On July 3, 1908, Joel Chandler Harris died of acute [[nephritis]] and complications from [[cirrhosis]] of the liver. In his obituary, the ''[[New York Times Book Review]]'' echoed Roosevelt's sentiment, stating: "Uncle Remus cannot die. Joel Chandler Harris has departed this life at the age of 60 ... but his best creation, [Uncle Remus] with his fund of folk-lore, will live in literature."<ref>"Uncle Remus." ''Saturday Review of Books,'' the ''New York Times.'' July 11, 1908.</ref>