This is a collection of Vai stories from Liberia which J. Luke Creel (b. 1910), a poet and professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College, heard from Bai Gai Kiahon (who is credited on the title page of the book, but not the book cover). I haven't been able to find out much about Kiahon except that he was born in Liberia, studied medicine in Germany, and then returned to Liberia (and this book was later translated into German under the title Der Knabe und der Löwe. Geschichten und Fabeln aus Liberia.) There are 16 stories in the book, including several Spider stories.
The illustrations are by Carol Hoorn Fraser (1930–1991), a Canadian artist. The artwork is very distinctive; I think they must be charcoal sketches? There are lots of illustrations, both integrated into the text pages and also some full-page art:
And the other book I wanted to share today is West African Trickster Tales by Martin Bennett:
Martin Bennett is an English poet and writer who has worked as a teacher in both Ghana and Nigeria. The book contains 10 stories about Spider (called Anansi in Ghana, Gizo in Nigeria), Rabbit (called Leuk in Senegal), and other West African trickster characters. Bennett's style is fun and freewheeling; as he says in the author's note that opens the book: "A tale that flies through many mouths has many feathers."
This is a book in the Oxford Myths and Legends series. It was later reissued under the title Tales from West Africa (why do publishers do that? it's so confusing!), with illustrations by Rosamund Fowler, but that edition is not available at the Internet Archive. You can find other books in this series at the Internet Archive too, including West Indian Folktales, Chinese Myths and Fantasies, Japanese Tales and Legends, Yugoslav Folk Tales, Russian Tales and Legends, Irish Sagas and Folk Tales, among others.
This is a book in the Oxford Myths and Legends series. It was later reissued under the title Tales from West Africa (why do publishers do that? it's so confusing!), with illustrations by Rosamund Fowler, but that edition is not available at the Internet Archive. You can find other books in this series at the Internet Archive too, including West Indian Folktales, Chinese Myths and Fantasies, Japanese Tales and Legends, Yugoslav Folk Tales, Russian Tales and Legends, Irish Sagas and Folk Tales, among others.
... As always, so many books and so many stories await you at the Internet Archive!
by J. Luke Creel and Bai Gai Kiahon
by Martin Bennett:
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