In February, Berkeley announced the arrival of a literary treasure trove. After much deliberation, and some reluctance, acclaimed author Amy Tan had agreed to gift a collection of her work—some 62 boxes worth—to the Bancroft Library.
The recently acquired Amy Tan archive contains a wealth of unpublished works, drafts, and manuscripts, as well as personal journals and family photographs dating back to her childhood. The collection, which is being catalogued and processed, will eventually become available to the public to peruse from the library’s Reading Room.
“Amy’s novels speak for themselves,” Sandra Dijkstra, Tan’s agent, told Berkeley News. “But these papers will provide new insights and analyses going forward.”
Tan, who came to Berkeley in the 1970s to take courses toward a doctorate in linguistics, has become a household name in literature, particularly for her exploration of the immigrant experience and struggle. Her many works of fiction and nonfiction include The Joy Luck Club, her widely read portrait of Chinese immigrant families who start a mahjong club in San Francisco.
Within the dozens of boxes is a collection of original sketches from years of backyard birdwatching and journaling. In 2016, grappling with a sudden rise in anti-Asian hate, Tan turned to nature seeking solace, resilience, and a renewed sense of wonderment. At the age of 65, the writer rediscovered her love of drawing and started to notice—and sketch—a cast of feathered characters right in her own backyard. For five years, she filled more than a dozen sketchbooks and journals with whimsical, annotated bird portraits, which became the heart of her 2024 publication, The Backyard Bird Chronicles. On exhibit at the Bancroft Library Gallery through June 27, Amy Tan’s Backyard Birds is a tribute to the quirks, charms, and dramas of her bird companions.
Tan brings her characteristic wit and empathy to these, at times, cartoon-like sketches. And no drama is too small: She documents everything from the “sneaky nonchalance” of some juvenile scrub jays in the midst of a food fight to a teasing collage of the great horned owl’s many moods (think: six identical grumpy, wide-eyed portraits).
“I meditated on the life of each bird I drew,” she said. “I puzzled over their behavior. Do they have emotions? How smart are they? What is trust to a bird?”
