Paul Bowles, American expatriate writer and longtime resident of Tangier, Morocco, wove modernist themes of alienation and primitivism into his novels and short stories, many of which are set in North Africa. After establishing a reputation as a composer of modern chamber music and incidental music for theatre and film, Bowles turned to fiction in the 1940s, following the example of his wife, the writer Jane Bowles. (A unique literary couple, they often drew upon their travels and each other’s personae for characters in their fiction.) His musician’s ear made him sensitive to sound; like Edgar Allan Poe, an early literary influence upon him, Bowles often dramatized the extreme psychological states of his characters through re

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First published 16 February 2005

Citation: Espey, David. "Paul Bowles". The Literary Encyclopedia. 16 February 2005.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=511, accessed 9 February 2010.]