Paul Bowles
Born December 30, 1910 · Died November 18, 1999
From Queens, New York, United States · Nationality: United States
Paul Frederic Bowles (December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his life.
Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making several trips to Paris in the 1930s. He studied music with Aaron Copland, and in New York wrote music for theatrical productions, as well as other compositions. He achieved critical and popular success with his first novel The Sheltering Sky (1949), set in what was known as French North Africa, which he had visited in 1931.
In 1947 Bowles settled in Tangier, at that time in the Tangier International Zone, and his wife Jane Bowles followed in 1948. Except for winters spent in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) during the early 1950s, Tangier was Bowles' home for the remainder of his life. He came to symbolize American immigrants in the city.
Paul Bowles died in 1999 at the age of 88. His ashes are buried near family graves in Lakemont Cemetery, in upstate New York.
Quotes
“A black star appears, a point of darkness in the night sky’s clarity. Point of darkness and gateway to repose. Reach out, pierce the fine fabric of the sheltering sky, take repose.”
The Sheltering Sky, p. 210 “Every second, ten stars set behind the black water in the west.”
Points in Time, p. 28 “For God’s sake, sit down. You look like a Calvinist rector telling his flock about Hell.”
Let It Come Down, p. 231 “Dr Slade went in to lunch in a state of desperate boredom tempered with resentment; it had shaken him a little to see how bad luck could be prolonged to such unlikely lengths.”
Up Above the World, p. 23 “For in order to avoid having to deal with relative values, he had long since come to deny all purpose to the phenomenon of existence — it was more expedient and comforting.”
The Sheltering Sky, p. 65
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Paul Bowles in order
Books by Paul Bowles in the order they were published, from The Sheltering Sky (1948) to Collected Stories (2010).
- 1The Sheltering Sky
The Sheltering Sky1948 - 2Let It Come Down
Let It Come Down1952 - 3The Spider's House
The Spider's House1955 - 4Hundred Camels in the Courtyard
Hundred Camels in the Courtyard1962 - 5Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue
Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue1963 - 6Up Above the World
Up Above the World1966 - 7ScenesScenes1968
- 8Collected Stories, 1939-1976
Collected Stories, 1939-19761979 - 9Midnight Mass
Midnight Mass1981 - 10She Woke Me up so I Killed Her
She Woke Me up so I Killed Her1985 - 11Unwelcome Words
Unwelcome Words1988 - 12A Thousand Days for Mokhtar, and Other Stories
A Thousand Days for Mokhtar, and Other Stories1989 - 13Without Stopping
Without Stopping1989 - 14Points in Time
Points in Time1990 - 15Days
Days1991 - 16Days: Tangier Journal
Days: Tangier Journal1991 - 17Too Far From Home
Too Far From Home1992 - 18A Distant Episode
A Distant Episode1996 - 19Collected Stories & Later Writings
Collected Stories & Later Writings2002 - 20The Stories of Paul Bowles
The Stories of Paul Bowles2006 - 21Collected Stories
Collected Stories2010 - 22Delicate Prey
Delicate Prey - 23The Thicket of Spring; Poems, 1926-1969
The Thicket of Spring; Poems, 1926-1969