Katie Bell 🇵🇸

What kind of possum is this? I’m only used to the ones in the American south.

In memoriam...

Now, that’s not said to diminish Potter’s work; authors and artists receive inspiration from what they see and read, and this is a perfect example of that in action. In a time where AA artist contributions are being questioned by the establishment, I believe it’s important to see these connections.

As a literature researcher, this interweaving of authors, artists, and stories is fascinating to me. To put it simply: because Joel Chandler Harris was in a special position to witness the stories of Georgia slaves, Peter Rabbit was born. We owe much to the oral traditions of American slaves.

So, while some readers may find Peter Rabbit to be a British copy of Brer, that isn’t exactly the case, as these stories weren’t Harris’s to begin with; he was merely the person who recorded them (albeit for white audiences).

Brer Rabbit often undergoes misfortune, is tricked and taken advantage of by others, but because he is cunning, he always finds a way out and survives.

Because of this, he was included in the story telling sessions of these Georgia slaves, which included the long established oral tradition of the stories of anthropomorphic animals. Brer Rabbit has been identified by African American scholars as an allegorical character to the plight of slaves.

Brer Rabbit wasn’t the sole creation of #JoelChandlerHarris. Harris had lived on a Georgia plantation as a young man, and since his mother wasn’t married to his father (and because he had red hair), he wasn’t allowed in the “big house.” He was told to bunk with the slaves.

Potter’s scenes are uniquely British and pastoral, but she clearly had a knack for imagining these animals in human predicaments and outfits!

You’ll likely notice an interesting similarity between her drawings of Brer Rabbit and Brer Possum and her later Peter Rabbit! Harris was one of the first authors to place his animal protagonists in outfits and have them live in communities mirroring those of people.

In the early 1890s, Potter was trying to break (unsuccessfully) into illustration. Harris’s “Uncle Remus” was a cultural phenomenon in the US and Britain. Potter tried her hand at drawing some illustrations of Brer Rabbit and submitted them to a publisher in Britain. They were rejected.

I love the #PeterRabbit stories and illustrations by #BeatrixPotter and once saved up my allowance to buy a pencil box depicting Peter Rabbit, but I did some work for Joel Chandler Harris’s Wren’s Nest in Atlanta when I was finishing my graduate degree, and discovered something fascinating! A 🧵

#ghostsign in Boston.

Tickled that this story in a random book I picked up of Irish Literature is the spitting image of Uncle Colm’s dialogue from Derry Girls.

Hello, reader! Interested in hearing about gory horror stories? Come to my free lecture next Wednesday! It’s virtual and free.

Right! Yes—I’m aware of the topography and gothic atmosphere (plus the sign in Whitby Abbey that says Dracula is not here 😂), but it wasn’t making sense route-wise that the ship landed there. I couldn’t find anywhere Stoker explained it but your thought does seem logical!

Went to the Root House in Cobb County and it was all done up for Christmas! Very accurately, too.

Was gifted the FULL SET of Pop figure Muppets Xmas Carol characters at work today. 🎄 I used them to enact a brief summary of the plot to kids who don’t know either reference. 👌

Just some little guys. Doin little guy things…

For all the #Dracula fans out there: I’m reading it fully for the first time and I have some questions. Chiefly, the sub plot surrounding Whitby. I know Carfax Abbey is based on Whitby but as it’s in London, why does the Demeter land in Whitby if greater London is the destination?

Awesome! Their work sounds really intriguing. I will enjoy investigating.

William Denton (geologist) - Wikipedia

@richardfallon.bsky.social Is this the guy: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

Selfie with new scarf with delightfully chonky British Robin.

Attempt at cross stitching Mrs. Tiggy Winkle from Peter Rabbit (unfinished and many mistakes!).

Gone into full old-British-lady mode.

A 19th c painted wall sign for Allard’s St. Groceries

#ghostsign in Leicester

An Open-Face-Sandwich in the Crowd.

I’m absolutely delighted to share the cover of my book, which will be published by @uncpress.bsky.social this fall. Many thanks to the design team at the Press and everybody who made this possible.

This video was filmed by Gerry Mooney, a (now retired) commercial artist and illustrator from New York. Mooney is also a longtime Charles Dickens fan and has... A

Delighted to share our new YouTube video of artist Gerry Mooney, creating his linoleum cutting illustrations for “Bleak House”!

youtu.be/wd_80NIiuEI?...

Fresh new blog post is up: “Those ‘Dark Spirits’ Within Us: Interpretive Power & the Legacy of Fandom”, which delves into the wonderful Miss Wade of “Little Dorrit”. dickenssociety.org/archives/4310

Big blep tonite.