Biographical note

Paul Bowles (1910-99) was the author of four novels, most famously The Sheltering Sky, a New York Times bestseller that was later filmed by Bertolucci. He was also a composer of note, writing music for Tennessee Williams' plays on Broadway. In 1938 Paul Bowles married the writer Jane Auer (Jane Bowles - author of Two Serious Ladies). Although both had mainly same sex relationships, they were devoted companions and lived in flats above one another in Tangier, Paul's home from 1947 until his death. As well as his own writing, Paul Bowles was the original translator of Jean-Paul Sartre (he coined the title "No Exit") and Jorge Luis Borges, and edited a remarkable sequence of books by Moroccan storytellers, notably his long-term friend and collaborator, Mohammed Mrabet. Publication of Travels celebrates the centenary year of Paul Bowles' birth (December 10th, 1910, Jamaica, Queens, New York State).