Pleasant DeSpain

Pleasant DeSpain (born in 1943) is an international storyteller, world traveler, and author of multicultural story collections and picture books, many of which are used in elementary schools and libraries as multicultural teaching aids''.'' He has performed in more than 3,000 schools, theaters, conventions, libraries, and churches in America, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Central America.

DeSpain has also been a featured storyteller at festivals across the US, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Tucson's Tales of Arizona Festival, and Louisville's Corn Island Storytelling Festival where he performed for 16,000 people. Jimmy Neil Smith, the founder of the National Storytelling Festival (and the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation, which would later become the International Storytelling Center), refers to DeSpain as “a pioneer of the American renaissance in storytelling.”

After visiting 36 countries, DeSpain chose Thailand – "the land of smiles" – as his home base in 2017. Provided by Wikipedia