Ashley Bryan Papers

Ashley Bryan was born July 13, 1923 in New York, New York, and grew up in the Bronx. He studies at Cooper Union Art School and Columbia University in New York. Bryan has taught art for many years, and serves as professor emeritus of art and visual studies at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He began his career as an illustrator in the 1960s, illustrating a collection of poetry by Rabindranath Tagore, Moon For What Do You Want, published in 1967, and has since published many works. Throughout the past few decades, Bryan has received praise for his illustrated retellings of African and West African folktales and as a compiler of African American poems and spirituals that help children explore Black culture and history. Bryan's retellings of folktales are noted for their emphasis on the tales' place in the oral tradition and his retention of their "read aloud" quality and word play. His illustrations add to the tales' appeal for readers with their detail and vitality.