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Exploring ‘The Mysteries of Harris Burdick’ by Chris Van Allsburg

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I can vividly recall my first encounter with The Mysteries of Harris Burdick in my 5th-grade classroom. I was seated near the front, and my teacher presented each page of the book on a slideshow (probably an old wheeled-projector, given it was the 90s). As each image flashed by, my curiosity was piqued; it was all so strange.

The pictures, though numerous, summarily depicted something fantastical: a house shooting into the sky, children on a railroad trolley bound for a distant, otherworldly land. In one image, a child slept over a book, now overrun with vines. The caption read: He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late. The only other time I recall being equally perplexed involved learning about Roanoke Island in the same 5th-grade classroom. In a similar vein, Burdick’s illustrations match the baffling nature of “Croatoan.”

However, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick ignited the narrative writer in me at the time. Our assignment, as given by the teacher, was to choose an image and craft a story around it. Naturally, one image interested me the most. It is the image of an older man with glasses, hoisting a chair high above his head. A lump beneath his carpet menaces him in a dreadful manner.

Underneath the picture, the caption read: Two weeks passed and it happened again.

In this brief writing, we delve into the 1984 picture book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg, exploring the author, its fictional background, and its textual and visual significance.

Who is Chris Van Allsburg?

Published in the mid-80s, Chris Van Allsburg, a celebrated writer and illustrator, created The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Allsburg was born on June 18, 1949, in Grand Rapids, MI. Allsburg attended the University of Michigan and the Rhode Island School of Design.

His inaugural work, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, debuted in 1979. He penned numerous more tales for children, including Bad Day at the Riverbend in 1995 and Probuditi! in 2006. Three of his books—Jumanji, The Polar Express, and Zathura—were adapted into popular films by film studios.

The Real Mystery of Harris Burdick

Returning to The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Allsburg conceived the fictional character of the titular author, who vanished after creating and illustrating the book of pictures himself. While seemingly an intentional (and enigmatic) creation, much like William Goldsmith’s meta-narrative introduction in The Princess Bride and Stephen King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, the character truly comes alive in the book’s introduction, also penned by Allsburg.

In the 1995 introduction, Allsburg recounts that a man named Peter Wenders, a children’s book publisher, arranged to meet Harris Burdick to discuss the illustrated book that would become The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. According to the introduction’s lore, Burdick brought only the images, which captivated Wenders. The publisher agreed to read Burdick’s companion stories the next day.

That was the last time Wenders saw Burdick.

“Harris Burdick was never heard from again,” writes Allsburg. “Over the years, Wenders tried to find out who Burdick was and what had happened to him, but he discovered nothing. To this day, Harris Burdick remains a complete mystery.”

Later, as per the introduction, a literary antiquarian discovered another drawing (likely by Burdick) behind the glass of a mirror that had cracked in his shop. The picture bore “a title and caption written in the margin at the bottom”—the unmistakable signature of Harris Burdick. However, his whereabouts remain unknown, at least according to lore (Allsburg).

Why Harris Burdick Matters

Burdick’s Impact on Writers

Burdick’s pictures entranced not just my own 5th-grade mind, but also the minds of writers everywhere. As they encountered the book, whether through assignment, discovery, or presentation, they found themselves captivated by what lay between its covers. It’s a beautifully manufactured book, teeming with inspiration for writers within. The images are profoundly captivating, each a masterstroke of visual stimulation.

Allsburg attests that he has “received hundreds of Burdick stories written by children and adults” over the years, a tribute to how vital Burdick’s work has been as a wellspring of motivation for writers.

Lemony Snicket, the fictional author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, asserts in the foreword to The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales, that Harris Burdick’s true disappearance wasn’t one for the late-night crime shows, but one that empowered writers; it was a magic trick that held significance for every writer who ever grappled for inspiration.

Snicket suggests: “Mr. Burdick might have dispensed his stories, over many years, to his comrades in literature. Perhaps he bestowed them as gifts in appreciation of their hospitality. Perhaps he concealed them in their guest rooms, hoping they would never be found. In any case, it was always my hope that the rest of Mr. Burdick’s work would surface, even if the mysteries of Mr. Burdick—who by now is either very old, quite dead, or both—remained unsolved.”

Personal (Transcendental) Impact

Subconsciously, this book frequently crosses my mind, along with the story I penned in 5th grade featuring a man assaulting the carpet with a chair. In fact, I fancied myself the next great horror writer in America (even in 5th grade), but I ended up crafting a tale so horrifyingly dumb that it elicited uproarious laughter from my class—and even the teacher couldn’t contain herself. I remember her pulling her glasses off as streams of tears raced down her cheeks. Nevertheless, everybody seemed to appreciate my venture into horrific narrative, all thanks to the inspiration drawn from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Perhaps, you appreciated your own jaunts into the strangely picturesque world of Burdick’s images as well.

If you haven’t yet delved into The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Likewise, please share which image you find most intriguing as a source of inspiration in the comments!

Works Cited

Allsburg, Chris V. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. HarperCollins Publishers. 1996.

Allsburg, Chris V. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales. HarperCollins Publisher, 2011.

“Chris Van Allsburg.” All American Speakers. Web. https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/429875/Chris-Van-Allsburg

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An Analysis of “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

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“And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”— Edgar Allan Poe | The Masque of the Red Death

To shield oneself from death is to hide from the inevitable. But death can will find you; after all, it finds all living beings at one point or another. Now, whether you make good of that surety, or try to lock yourself in a palace of ignorance is your choice I suppose. But remember: Death will always find you! In Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Masque of the Read Death,” the protagonist find themselves confronted with death as it seeps through the fortress walls and into a sightly party.

Summary

“The Masque of the Red Death” tells the tale of an upper class party that has quarantined itself from the rest of society. A plague has swept the city (more than likely the bubonic plague). Prince Prospero, who is in charge of this party, has gone through great lengths of seclusion to keep his cohorts safe from this “Red Death.”

Poe writes of Prospero: “But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys” (Poe). The crowd is enthralled with the lavish masquerade party, Poe tells us. Yet, while they are gleefully enjoying their party, a masked figure arrives and begins moving toward a room that is otherwise off-limits to the guests. He dresses in a crimson costume and moves through the crowds unnaffected.

As Prospero follows the stranger, he becomes frightened by the figure’s ghostly movement. So, Prospero decides to engage this foreboding character. However, he gets more than he bargained. As a final act, the figure reveals nothing underneath its robe, and the sight of this invisible assailant kills Prospero outright.

Analysis

The Title

It is worthwhile to note that the word “masque,” that Poe used in the title, has a double meaning. The strange figure who appears is the “masque of the Red Death.” Meanwhile, other meanings stem from court entertainment in the 16th and 17th centuries. The masque itself was a form of festival, pageant, or play performed by “actors wearing masks.”

As stated by Britannica, the masque featured “costumed and masked persons” who “arrived at a social gathering to dance and talk with guests. The masque could both be a simple parade or a lavish spectacle and event.

Story Elements

Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death,” though portentous in tone, has lovely atmosphere and a frightful villain. The idea of hosting a gallant party while a plague sweeps across the country has a certain charm. Perhaps one that hits too close to home. In modern terms, the Red Death could certainly symbolize Covid. Yet, the fear of sickness has always been a pervasive fear in society. The quarantine put into affect in various countries definitely mirrors Prince Prospero’s holdout in the castle.

However, we also know the vile nature of hiding from death if only to save yourself from its clutches for a short while longer. Of course, Prospero learns this all too late when his fate is sealed at the finale. The innate flaws in his character (being narcissistic and wealthy) ultimately bring his life to a close. The story itself is about running from death–thematically–as a means to avoid its touch; but, as with most Poe stories, the protagonist suffers a horrible fate due to their own malicious intent.

The story ends beautifully. Poe writes: “He had come like a thief in the night … one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay … the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (Poe).

The characters had reveled in their security, high above the uncultured swine, and they fell fast and hard just as the rest. Death cannot be escaped whether you live in desperate, plague-laden penury, or you are in lavish luxury. It will find you, and it will claim you in the end.

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Masque of the Red Death.” The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Arthur Hobson Quinn, Anchor Books, 1975, pp. 345-352.

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Analysis of “America” by Claude McKay: Strength and Struggle

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In interpreting Americanness through the eyes of poet Claude McKay, we see his experiences manifested in the forms of the Harlem Renaissance and the reality of racism. The latter was/is a pervasive, violent thorn in side of Black Americans. In this post, we will analyze “America” by Claude McKay through a brief analysis. This poem offers insight into the dual lives of people of color in the United States and a hope for a brighter future.

“America” by Claude McKay Analysis

Inspiration

McKay’s poem was published in 1921, and comes from a variety of inspirations. For example, McKay was a Jamaican immigrant who came to the US in 1912. He wrote through heated times in American history, including the Red Summer and the Red Scare. Consequently, seeing this racism first hand influenced McKay political ideology and predilection for racial themes in verse. McKay was also a bisexual leftist, and felt marginalized throughout his life.

Interpretation

The poem “America” comes naturally from a sore spot in McKay’s soul. It discusses oppression and a rebel lifestyle that stands in contrast to the average, white American experience. McKay writes, “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, / And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, / Stealing my breath of life, I will confess / I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.” McKay tells us that it is bitter to live in a land he loves that challenges him in all aspects of his life.

America, according to McKay, is “vigor” that “flows like tides into” his blood. The country gives him life and “strength erect against her hate.” What kills him inside also feeds him completely. “Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, / I stand within her walls with not a shred / Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer. / Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, And see her might and granite wonders there.”

McKay espouses the hope that hate and violence will end one day because America is capable of that change. He can see it in the darkest spots. One day, it will not reflect the worst outcomes, he believes, but it will shed light upon the greatness that lies in shadow. As McKay writes: “Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”

Even so, McKay places a empathetic touch on America’s spirit. Donna Denize and Lousia Newlin write in their article “The Sonnet Tradition of Claude McKay” that McKay “feminizes” North America. Through this poem, and others, he perhaps creates a loving, yet tumultuous, relationship between the speaker and the country.

The authors state: “One can’t help but notice how images keep shifting, as by the means of the sonnet form, the speaker negotiates the tension between conflicting emotions—passions invoked by the great promise of equality and innovation, patent traits of the American Dream” (Denize). Moreover, McKay dreams in this poem that America is capable of moving away from its violent past and inclination toward oppression. The goodness is there, yet it needs to show its face.

Read the full poem here.

Works Cited

Denizé, Donna E. M., and Louisa Newlin. “The Sonnet Tradition and Claude McKay.” The English Journal, vol. 99, no. 1, 2009, pp. 99–105. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40503338. Accessed 1 July 2021.

McKay, Claude. “America by Claude McKay | Poetry Foundation.” Poetry Foundation, 1 July 2021, poetryfoundation.org/poems/44691/america-56d223e1ac025.