John Bennett (author)
John Bennett (May 14, 1865 – December 28, 1956) was an American author who is best known for the children's books that he wrote and illustrated. Some of them are anthologies of stories based on black folk tales, especially those drawn from the Gullah culture. He is considered to be a leading figure of the Charleston Renaissance. Early years and education Bennett was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, the son of a merchant. He learned to draw as a child, becoming skilled at the art of cutting silhouettes. He dropped out of high school to work for a newspaper, subsequently become a freelance author and illustrator. These were difficult years financially, and he developed eyestrain and depression that he treated with patent medicines containing cocaine, which led to addiction. By 1891 he had recovered, and that year he began contributing regularly to St. Nicholas Magazine, a children's monthly. Bennett was largely self-educated as an illustrator. He wanted to go to art school, but he was not able to afford it until the mid 1890s, when he enrolled in the Art Students' League in New York. When his 1897 children's book Master Skylark became a bestseller, he dropped out of art school