In the spring of 1982 I was working as a deck machinist on a cable-laying ship based out of Norfolk, Virginia. In a copy of the Village Voice that I’d picked up while on shore leave, I saw an advertisement for a writing workshop with Paul Bowles in Tangier, Morocco, scheduled for that summer. I immediately sent away for an application form, and when it arrived, I carefully … [Read more...]
My meeting with Paul Bowles in Tangier, 1980
In June of 1980 my manuscript submission had won me a place in the School of Visual Arts pilot program of study with writer/composer Paul Bowles in Tangier, Morocco. At the time of my acceptance to the program I was working as a regional reporter at the Record, a newspaper in Northern Jersey. I hated it. I wanted to create stories not record them. Paul Bowles was a hero to … [Read more...]
Vast Regions from Nowhere: Paul Bowles, Unfathered Authors, Mother-Bonded Sons
“I think that having spent my life trying to hide everything from everyone, I’ve ended up by no longer being able to find many things myself. Seriously.” —Paul Bowles, 1975 The Core “Other people’s indifference is the only horror.” —Paul Bowles, 1948 The first time I read a word of Paul Bowles, I was sitting on a bench in the zócalo in Oaxaca, Mexico, around twilight. It … [Read more...]
Calling on Paul Bowles: Tangier, Morocco, August 1979
Calling on Paul Bowles Tangier, Morocco, August 1979 ”There it is,” someone says, and in the darkness, in the distance, you can see Tangier sprawled across several hills, a white city illuminated by electric lights and veiled by a thin fog. After docking, disembarking and a wearisome wait to clear Moroccan customs, we take a taxi to our hotel, hurtling through the … [Read more...]
Jack Foley: Goodbye, Ted Joans
GOODBYE, TED JOANS Don't let the minute spoil the hour. --Ted Joans Ted Joans died April 25th, 2003 at the age of 74. He was alone in his apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia. His body wasn't found until May 7th. It seems odd--and was in fact merely accidental--that Ted should have died alone: he was an immensely social man who … [Read more...]
In Memory of Poet Alan Ansen: Biography, Books & Links
Alan Ansen passed away in Athens, Grece on November 12, 2006. A poet, playwright, and author, he was associated with both the Beat Generation & New York poets. Ansen served as secretary to W.H. Auden for a number of years. Ansen inspired the character Rollo Greb in On the Road, and other of Kerouac's characters as well. Living in Tangier, he spent time with Paul Bowles, … [Read more...]
