Allen Say

Bridge Between Two Continents

Biographical Data

Personal Information: Family: Born August 28, 1937; son of Masako Moriwaki; married Deirdre Myles, April 18, 1974; children: Yuriko (daughter). Education: Studied under Noro Shinpei, age 12 to age 16, where he learned Eastern and Western drawing styles and the importance of movement in art, at Aoyama Gakuin, Tokyo, Japan, three years, Chouinard Art Institute, University of California, Berkeley, two years, and San Francisco Art Institute, one year.

Avocational Interests: Fly Fishing.

Addresses: Home: San Francisco, Calif.

Career: EIZO Press, Berkeley, Calif., publisher, 1968; commercial photographer and illustrator, 1969--; writer. His early illustrations were pen-and-ink drawings of Japanese folktales. Starting with The Bicycle Man in 1982, his illustrations became more colorful and humorous through the use of exaggerated gestures. More recently, starting with A Tree of Cranes , in 1991, Say paints in beautiful watercolors. He sometimes uses a French impressionist style, as in Grandfather's Journey. Say's writing starts with a vague idea, then drawings. He "sees a pattern within the pictures, " which he develops into a possible plot. Next he paints all of the paintings, then he writes the story. He works best with a deadline, working nonstop until the book is finished, usually in 10 to 12 months. Say's writings show respect for both Asian and American peoples and cultures. He stresses the importance of family members in relation to each other. His characters often take a journey from one country and culture to another. He bridges two cultures in his books, in a most wonderful way. "As a storyteller," Allen Say "strives patiently to recognize a certain enchantment about the story that will alter the reader's perspective."

(And illustrator) Dr. Smith's Safari, Harper, 1972.
(And illustrator) Once under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale, Harper, 1974.
(And illustrator) The Feast of Lanterns, Harper, 1976.
The Innkeeper's Apprentice (young adult), Harper, 1979.
(And illustrator) The Bicycle Man, Houghton, 1982.
(And illustrator) A River Dream, Houghton, 1988.
(And illustrator) The Lost Lake, Houghton, 1989.
El Chino, Houghton, 1990.

ILLUSTRATOR

Brother Antoninus, A Canticle to the Waterbirds, EIZO Press, 1968.
Wilson Pinney, editor, Two Ways of Seeing, Little, Brown, 1971.
Eve Bunting, Magic and Night River, Harper, 1978.
Annetta Lawson, The Lucky Yak, Parnassus Press, 1980.
Thea Brow,The Secret Cross of Lorraine, Houghton, 1981.
Ina R. Friedman, How My Parents Learned to Eat, Houghton, 1984.
Dianne Snyder, The Boy of the Three Year Nap, Houghton, 1988.

PERIODICALS

New York Times Book Review, May 5, 1974, October 24, 1982.
Washington Post Book World, May 19, 1974, May 4, 1975.

Source: Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 1999. Gale Database: Contemporary Authors © 2000 The Gale Group. All rights reserved.

Source: Houghton Mifflin Company, c1997. All Rights Reserved.