Ashliman, D. L. 1938-

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ASHLIMAN, D. L. 1938-

PERSONAL: Born January 1, 1938, in Idaho Falls, ID; married, 1960; three children. Education: University of Utah, B.A., 1963; Rutgers University, M.A., Ph.D., 1969; postgraduate study at Georg-August Universität, Göttingen, Germany.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Greenwood Publishing, 88 Post Rd. W., Westport, CT 06881. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, associate professor of German, 1977–86, chair of German department, 1994–97; faculty member until 2000. Semester at Sea, Academic Dean, 1994; visiting professor at University of Augsburg, Germany, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998.

WRITINGS:

A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System, Greenwood Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Once upon a Time: The Story of European Folktales, University of Pittsburgh External Studies Program (Pittsburgh, PA), 1994.

(Compiler) Voices from the Past: The Cycle of Life in Indo-European Folktales, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. (Dubuque, IA), 1995.

(Editor) Aesop's Fables, translated by V.S. Vernon Jones, Barnes & Noble Classics (New York, NY), 2003.

Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: A folklorist with an encyclopedic knowledge of these ubiquitous stories, D.L. Ashliman has produced studies on English-language folktales and on the cycle of life in Indo-European tales. Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook expands the reach of these studies to provide folklorists with a handy reference guide, which "stands out for its brevity and an intersecting writing style," according to Library Journal contributor Mirela Roncevic. It is a vast subject, and as Ray B. Browne described it in the Journal of American Culture, "If all music, as … Louis Armstrong believed, is folk music, then all culture is folk culture. And if that is correct, this book is for us all." In addition to providing historical details on the cultures that produced the familiar stories of our childhood, Ashliman includes brief biographies of key figures, such as Aesop, that may deepen our understanding of their tales. He also discusses the long history of folklore scholarship, from Socrates and Plato to Freud and Jung and the neo-Marxist and feminist studies of the modern era. The final section places folktales within the wider world culture, discussing their influence on music, art, and film. For further study, Ashliman includes "an excellent glossary and an extensive bibliography," noted Library Journal reviewer Katherine K. Koenig.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Journal of American Culture, December, 2004, Ray B. Browne, review of Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook, p. 445.

Library Journal, July, 2004, Mirela Roncevic, review of Folk and Fairy Tales, p. 118; September 1, 2004, Katherine K. Koenig, review of Folk and Fairy Tales, p. 162.