Paul Bowles Papers: Finding Aid mssBowles

Charla M. DelaCuadra
The Huntington Library
July 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org

Note

Finding aid last updated on February 6, 2023, by Maggie Hughes.


Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
Title: Paul Bowles papers
Creator: Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999
Identifier/Call Number: mssBowles
Physical Description: 2.20 Linear Feet (1 box, 1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1933-2008
Date (bulk): 1967-1985
Abstract: Correspondence and manuscripts of Paul Bowles, American author and composer of operas, film and stage scores, ballets, songs and chamber music.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

NOT AVAILABLE. DVD in box 1 is not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Paul Bowles papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Lonnie Burr, April 1985 and April 2010.

Biographical / Historical

Paul Bowles (1910-1999) was an American author and composer of operas, film and stage scores, ballets, songs and chamber music. Bowles studied music with Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson and began to write at the encouragement of Gertrude Stein. Although born in New York, Bowles spent much of his adult life in his adopted home of Morocco. Many of his novels and short stories focus on life in Morocco from the perspective of both natives and foreigners. Bowles also worked as a translator, working on English versions of French, Spanish, Italian and Moroccan originals. He earned numerous grants, awards and fellowships throughout his lifetime, including an American Book Award nomination. Bowles was married to the playwright Jane Auer Bowles (1917-1973). He died in November 1999, in Morocco.

Biographical / Historical

Lonnie Burr (born 1943) is an American actor, entertainer, and writer. Burr met and became friends with Paul Bowles in 1968 as a student in a class taught by Bowles.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains three manuscripts by Bowles (two short stories and one musical score) as well as a series of letters between him and his friend and fellow author, Lonnie Burr. The majority of the correspondence is authored by Bowles and includes several picture postcards from Morocco and other foreign locations. Also included in the collection are two letters Bowles wrote to the William Morris Agency. Issues addressed within the collection include the political situation in Morocco and the United States, descriptions of Morocco's Tangier peninsula, discussions of contemporary writers and their work and the personal lives of both Bowles and Burr. The addendum is comprised of three folders containing original and photocopies of Bowles' correspondence, 1967-1994; Lonnie Burr's writings about Bowles, 1968-1999; and the DVD "The Many Faces of Lonnie Burr, 1950 to 2008," 2008.

Processing Information

Processed by library staff in July 1989. Charla M. DelaCuadra created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report in July 2020. In February 2023, Maggie Hughes processed the addendum.

Arrangement

Arranged in loose chronological order.

General

Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 53279-53314, mssFAC 1170-1178.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Americans -- Morocco -- Correspondence
Authors -- 20th century
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Correspondence
Morocco -- Politics and Government -- 20th century
United States -- Politics and Government -- 20th century
Morocco -- Fiction
Tangier Peninsula (Morocco) -- Description and travel
Letters (correspondence) -- Morocco
Manuscripts -- Morocco
Musical compositions
Picture postcards -- Morocco
Bowles, Jane, 1917-1973
Burr, Lonnie
William Morris Agency

Box 1

Paul Bowles papers 1933-1985

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

NOT AVAILABLE. DVD is not available until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.
Folder Oversize 1

Editions de la Vipere: draft in pencil approximately 1933