J.M. Barrie

J.M. Barrie is the Writer's name for Sir James Matthew Barrie. His most famous work was Peter Pan, followed with The Little White Bird.

Thumbelina once cautions Lewis Carroll, "Sad Writers tell sad stories. So, take care of your heart." This advice would have applied well to J.M. Barrie. The world he crafted on paper is exhilarating, wild, and full of tragedy. We first see him with L. Frank Baum--"The Scotsman and the American"--two new Writers to Calliope under the Administration of Thumbelina. J. M. Barrie returns years later when Calliope is now under the direction of a much-older Alice Liddell Hargreaves. While he is part of the Writer's Strike, we only see him in the role of a concerned peacemaker. Because, putting Baum and Alice Liddell Hargreaves in the same room to talk was about as effective as Earle Stanley Gardner's 'I poured oil on the troubled flames.'

For all the troubles Barrie witnessed as a part of Calliope, he was an effective Writer. He made the name Wendy popular to this day, and he was one of the first to observe how children's ability to think and remember and process change as they grow. Much of his actual writings involving children are not all that happy, but then, Barrie didn't have a happy childhood. He fought censorship of writing, and as he grew older, noticed social inequality. While he was not a Namesake, his writings showed a respect for parallel worlds in works such as Dear Brutus. Neverland

Barrie described Neverland as a beautiful, amazing world with all the desires of a child. It was part of his gift in imagery and appeal that made Neverland a fixed component of popular culture. Even though we know it is completely unsafe, we still want to go there.

Like Lewis, Barrie died of pneumonia.