African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Old Rabbit, the Voodoo, and Other Sorcerers

Carrying on with the "classics" theme for this week (see the Martha Young post from yesterday), here is a book of African American and Native American folktales published in 1893: Old Rabbit, the Voodoo, and Other Sorcerers by Mary Alicia Owen.

The illustrations are by Juliette Owen (the author's sister) and Louis Wain (a British illustrator best known for his cat pictures; see Wikipedia):

You can find out more about Mary Alicia Owen (1858-1935) at Wikipedia. There is also a biography about Mary Owen and her sisters, Luella and Juliette, which you can find at the Internet Archive: Daring to Be Different : Missouri's Remarkable Owen Sisters.

Mary Owen also worked with the Meskwaki (Sac and Fox) people, documenting their tales and stories in this book: Folklore of the Musquakie Indians, published in 1904.

So, especially if you are interested in the intersection of African American and Native American storytelling traditions (see this earlier post), Mary Alicia Owen's books are an important resource, all just a click away at the Internet Archive.

Old Rabbit, the Voodoo, and Other Sorcerers

by Mary Alice Owen