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Biography of Paul Bowles December 30th 1910 - November 18th 1999 by Josie Farmer Biography: The Later Years Part 2: 1990-1999 
Paul held
'open house' in Tangier for about the last fifteen years of his life.
People would just turn up, ring his doorbell and be invited in.
It was during these early 1990 years that Paul's good friend, Millicent Dillon, (who from 1977 was probably the closest platonic female friend to Paul since the death of his beloved wife, Jane; on whom she had researched and written several books) revisited with Paul many times in Tangier and who later wrote his official biography: 'You are Not I: A Portrait of Paul Bowles'. Paul travelled back to the USA twice during the 1990's, once in 1994 for medical treatment for cancer at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. Paul said at the time 'Refusing to remain in Georgia for radiation therapy may have been foolish, but it had seemed that staying on would have been even more foolish, considering how badly I wanted to escape.' In recent years, a resurgence of interest in Bowles's music has led to some concerts and performances in the United States and Europe. A new generation of musicians has released several recent digital recordings of Bowles's compositions.  Paul's music and spoken word began to be recorded throughout the 1990's by various music ensembles. His composition 'The Wind Remains' is outstanding. Paul visited New York in 1995 to be present at concerts of his musical works, which took place on 19-21 September at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Performances included his 'Secret Words: Six Songs of Paul Bowles', 'Mediodia', 'Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra', 'Symphonic Suite', and 'The Wind Remains: A Zarzuela based on Lorca'. Paul has also been the subject of and participated in seven or eight videos over the past twenty or so years.
The Creative talent and Achievements
of Paul Bowles It is not
unusual in the history of artistic and creative people
to live unusual life styles - Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald being a case
in point - it is simply an additional path that sets
them aside from the 'norms' of accepted social behavior (and thus,
apart from the
rest of 'us'). And yet it was partly because of Paul's unconventional
lifestyle that this had so much assisted his creativity. One could
argue that the reverse was true for Jane Bowles, but for this article,
we will stick with Paul. Paul Bowles
found magic and inspiration in his daily, living environment of Tangier
- and he hated to leave there - and this magic transferred into some of
the clearest and most interesting fiction of the twentieth century. Paul Bowles
said,
'If I said that Tangier struck me as a dream city, I should mean it in
the strict sense. Its topography was rich in prototypal dream
scenes: covered streets like corridors with doors opening into rooms on
each side, hidden terraces high above the sea, streets consisting only
of steps, dark impasses, small squares built on sloping terrain so that
they looked like ballet sets designed in false perspective, with alleys
leading off in several directions; as well as the classical dream
equipment of tunnels, ramparts, ruins, dungeons and cliffs.' See
Reference 3. Listen to Paul Bowles reading the above
paragraph: Paul Bowles
was one
of the last surviving representatives of a generation of artists whose
work has shaped 20th century literature and music. See Reference 4 . He
became one of the preeminent composers of American theater music,
producing works for William Saroyan, Tennessee Williams, and others.
See Reference 5. In 1991, Paul
Bowles won the Rea Award for the Short Story. The Jury commented 'Paul
Bowles is a storyteller of the utmost purity and integrity. He writes
of a world before God became man; a world in which men and women in
extremis are seen as components in a larger, more elemental drama. His
prose is crystalline and his voice unique. Among living American
masters of the short story, Paul Bowles is sui generis.' See Reference 6 This is the Paul Bowles that we know and love. He is plain and simply without peer.
Paul Bowles lived in Tangier, his chosen domicile residence, for over 50 years. He did not believe that 'civilization' is better than or preferable to 'primitiveness' and that's why he disliked western life with it's overtly materialistic, competitive values and so chose to live in Morocco, until his death. His repudiation of competitive values and false adulation was total and uncompromising. Paul Bowles cared greatly about his writing, and his friends. Sadly, Paul's wife, Jane, had died in Malaga in 1973, after a very long fifteen year illness. Paul continued to live in Tangier, and was cared for by his housekeeper and driver, right up until his death, in the Italian Hospital in Tangier on November 18th, 1999. Paul's wish was to be cremated and buried in the same grave with his Mother, in the USA, at Lakemont Cemetery, Glenora, New York State. A long time friend from Tangier, Mr. Joseph McPhillips III, (who later became the Executor of the Estate of Paul Bowles), accompanied Paul's ashes to their final resting place. The 'Complete Outsider'2 had returned home. Paul Bowles is now finally at home and at rest in that place he remembered from so long ago - a place called America.
All of the
above books are highly recommended by The International Paul Bowles
Society. Reference 1 'Paul Bowles by His
Friends' by Gary Pulsifer
Biography: Part 1: 1910-1990 Home  Dedicated to the life and work of Paul and Jane Bowles ©The International Paul Bowles Society, 2000 |
Copyright
Notice
'Without Stopping'
'You are Not I:
'Paul Bowles : 2117 Tanger
Socco'