Biographical Note

(Robert) Coleman Dowell was born to Mordon and Beulah Dowell in Adairville, Kentucky on May 29, 1925. Dowell attended several country schools, among them, a one room schoolhouse where Latin and Greek were taught. His last two years of high school were at Simpson County High in Franklin, a new county school where he was on the school paper. Dowell served in the U.S. Army, Medical Corps from 1944-45 and as an assistant to the prosecution in war crimes trials in Manila in 1945-46. He was eventually promoted to the rank of sergeant. During this period he also attended the University of the Philippines. Dowell returned home to the U.S. in 1946 and settled in Louisville for a few years where he was a full-time member of the National Guard. Here, he wrote the musical play that brought him to New York

Dowell moved to New York City in 1950, initially finding work as a model for automobile and airline ads and as a typist. From 1950-53 Dowell was employed as a song writer and lyricist for the Dumont television show, Once Upon a Tune, which starred Bea Arthur, Elaine Stritch, Alice Ghostley, and Charlotte Rae. Dowell composed nearly 1,000 works for weekly broadcast. He also worked as David Merrick's protege and with John LaTouche on the abortive Broadway musical version of Eugene O'Neill's  Ah, Wilderness!. 1957 was a pivotal year for Dowell. It was in January of this year that he managed to meet Carl Van Vechten, author of  The Tattooed Countess. Dowell wanted permission to attempt to adapt the piece to the musical stage. He played for Van Vechten selections from a score for  The Tattooed Countess and won Van Vechten's approval for the rights. Carl Van Vechten was known to his friends as "Carlo." His career included stints as a music critic for the  New York Times, as a novelist during the 1920s, and as a photographer for which he never sought nor received payment. He photographed many of the major figures in the arts world. His wife was Fania Marinoff, a retired actress. Van Vechten introduced Dowell into his circle of friends which included many celebrities: Isak Dinesen, Langston Hughes, Leontyne Price, Geoffrey Holder, Gloria Vanderbilt, Sidney Lumet, Eileen Herlie, Kim Hunter, Barbra Streisand, Dianne Carroll, Pearl Bailey, Anthony Armstrong Jones, Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, Laurence Olivier, Gertrude Stein, the Gish sisters, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, George Kaufman, Noel Coward, and Maurice Sendak, among others.

The Tattooed Countess, which opened in 1961, was panned by the critics and closed within a few days. Dowell, who had written the book, score and lyrics, tried his luck with another theatrical experiment,  Eve of the Green Grass. This play was presented at the Chelsea Art Theatre in 1965 and starred Kim Hunter. Seeing his play on the stage, Dowell concluded that the theatre was not his metier and turned his attention to writing novels. This was done without the mourning that the failure of  The Tattooed Countess had induced. Dowell's early experiences in the theatre were used in two magazine articles, "At Home with Drosselmeier" and "A Handful of Anomalies" which were published in  Bomb Magazine in 1984 and 1985, respectively. His theatrical career was also included in his unfinished autobiography,  A Dark Book, which was published by The Dalkey Archive Press in June 1993 under the title:  A Star-bright Lie.

Dowell had found only disillusionment in the theater. He decided to seek his fortune as a writer of fiction. Dowell had already experienced some success in writing fiction. His short story, "Alter Frau im Garten" had been published in 1962. Over a fifteen year period Dowell wrote five novels: One of the Children is Crying (1968),  Mrs. October was Here (1974),  Island People (1976),  Too Much Flesh and Jabez (1977), and  White on Black on White (1983). Remarkably, the first four novels had been written concurrently. These novels were intricate both in concept and in form. It was during this period that Dowell enjoyed the critical praise and friendship of such noted authors as Walter Abish, Thom Gunn, John Hawkes, Ann Lauterbach, Gilbert Sorrentino, Maurice Sendak, Edmund White, and Tennessee Williams.

Dowell was talented and he yearned to be famous. He very much needed a popular readership. One of the Children is Crying, one of his most accessible books, was widely reviewed, with reviews appearing in Boston, Denver, Hollywood, Houston, Louisville, Milwaukee, Sacramento, and Tulsa. Since  One of the Children is Crying had been published earlier in England under the title,  The Grass Dies, reviews also appeared in England and Ireland. Surprisingly, reviews for Dowell's second novel,  Mrs. October was Here, were meager and from rather obscure sources. Nevertheless, this novel was always mentioned as being Dowell's favorite.  Island People was a favorite with critics and other authors, and was called Dowell's masterpiece. Supporters of this novel included Tennessee Williams, Gilbert Sorrentino, Ihab Hassan, and Walter Abish, but reviews were still not as plentiful as had been the case with his first novel.  The New York Times called it "a work of art" and brought Dowell some national attention.  Too Much Flesh and Jabez was the least reviewed of Dowell's novels.  The New York Times, nevertheless, called it "a tour de force."  White on Black on White received many, but mixed, reviews. Dowell was given a tribute before the publication of his last novel in the Fall 1982 issue of  The Review of Contemporary Fiction. This issue, called the Paul Bowles-Coleman Dowell number, contains the major critical articles on Dowell which had appeared up to this date.

Three different journals published nearly all of Dowell's short fiction. New Directions: An Anthology of Prose and Poetry published the following titles: "The Keepsake" (#26, 1973), "The Birthmark" (#27, 1973), "I Envy You Your Adventure" (#28, 1974), "First Person Biography" (#29, 1974), "Victor: (#30, 1975), "If Beggars were Horses" (#31, 1975), "Singing in the Clump" (#32, 1976), "The Moon, the Owl, my Sister" (#33, 1976), "Ham's Gift" (#35, 1977), and "My Father was a River" (#36, 1978). The English quarterly,  Ambit, published the following titles: "I am the Beast" (#61, 1975), "The Drought Ends" (#65, 1976), "Her Good Man Gone" (#69, 1977), "A Lifetime Proposition" (#73, 1978), "Patridge House" (#76, 1978), "The Snake House" (#79, 1979), "The Silver Swanne" (#89, 1980), "Person Waiting" (#94, 1983), and "Kitty" (#100, 1985).  Conjunctions published "The Great Godalmighty Bird" (#4, 1983), "Eve of the Green Grass" (novel excerpt) (#6, 1984), and "Writings on a Cave Wall" (#8, 1985). As has been already stated, "Old Woman in a Garden" or "Alte Frau im Garten" (translation by Ruth Landskoff-Yorck) was published in  Frankfurter Heftein 1962. "Handy" appeared in  Kentucky Renaissance in 1976, and "The Hobo" appeared in  ADENA in Spring 1986. During 1983 both  Conjunctions and  Grenfell Press republished "The Silver Swanne" which  Conjunctions editor, Bradford Morrow, in "Postscript,"  The Houses of Children: Collected Stories (1987) termed Dowell's greatest work of short fiction. It should also be noted that Dowell reviewed books for the  Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky from 1978-1985.

Dowell received critical praise from the leading authors and critics of his day. He never received the popular support he so desperately needed. His later years were plagued by ill health. Although there were good times, Dowell could not escape feelings of disillusionment, suicide, or as he put it, "the balcony beckons me." In the early morning hours on Saturday August 3, 1985, Dowell leapt from his 15th floor apartment balcony overlooking Fifth Avenue. As is the case with so many other writers or artists, the attention focused on Coleman Dowell accelerated after his death. In 1987, The Houses of Children: Collected Stories was published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson and this publishing company also reissued  One of the Children is Crying.  Too Much Flesh and Jabez was also made available via the Dalkey Archive Press.

Three major works by Dowell were left unfinished. These include Eve of the Green Grass, a novel; Dowell's autobiography entitled,  A Dark Book and his private journal 1968-1984 which is a running diary of his life, writings, attitude towards people, and also includes personal observations for stories. Two excerpts from  A Dark Book had been published earlier in  Bomb magazine under the titles: "At Home with Drosselmeier" (#10, Fall 1984) and "A Handful of Anomalies" (#13, Fall 1985). These deal with Dowell's early adventures in New York City and his relationship with Carl Van Vechten, as well as his early theatrical career.

Dowell was given a final tribute at his apartment on November 3, 1985. A large number of famous personalities representing the worlds of dance, art, literature, music, theater, and education toasted their friend and praised his accomplishments as a gifted composer, poet, playwright, novelist, and critic.

Sources:

• The Coleman Dowell Papers, (New York: Fales Library, NYU, 1993)
• Contemporary Authors, (Detroit: Gale Research, 1990)
• Kuehl, L., & J. Kuehl, eds. (1989). Prospectus for a start-bright lie: Coleman Dowell's Theatrical Memoirs (NY: The Review of Contemporary Fiction7:3 Fall 1987)