David Bowles (author)
David Bowles | |
---|---|
Bowles in 2016 | |
Born |
David Oscar Bowles, Jr. February 27, 1970 Upper Marlboro, Maryland, United States |
Occupation | Poet, novelist, translator |
Ethnicity | Mexican-American |
Notable works |
The Smoking Mirror Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry |
Notable awards | Pura Belpré Author Honor; Texas Institute of Letters Translation Award; |
Website | |
www.davidbowles.us |
David Bowles (born 1970) is an American critic, translator and author.
Life and career
David Bowles was born to residents of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in 1970. Raised in an ethnically diverse family with Mexican-American roots,[1] [2] [3] he was hooked on dark folktales at an early age by his grandmother Marie Garza, the family storyteller.[4]
Those stories got him interested in reading at an early age, setting him on a path to become an English teacher.[5] During his third year in the classroom, he returned to the folktales of his childhood to encourage Mexican-American students who struggled to read.[5] His retelling of the stories for middle-schoolers led to his first book, The Seed.[2]
Bowles' research into border legends has been featured on Monsters and Mysteries in America[6] in the eighth episode of season two: "Winged Beasts: Flying Humanoid, Jersey Devil, Batsquatch."[4]
In addition to folklore, Bowles has translated poetry from Nahuatl,[7] Yucatec Mayan,[8] Spanish and Japanese, which have appeared in journals such as Rattle, Translation Review, and Metamorphosis: A Journal of Literary Translation.[3] His original poetry has been featured in Concho River Review, The Thing Itself, BorderSenses and Huizache, among other venues.[9]
Bowles also writes speculative fiction.[9] He has had stories published in Strange Horizons[10] and Apex Magazine[11] and is currently writing a YA fantasy series called Garza Twins[12] that features Latino protagonists and Mesoamerican mythology.[13]
Bowles resides with his wife and children in Donna, Texas. He has been the book reviewer for regional newspaper The Monitor since 2012.[3] Holding a Master's in English and a doctorate in Education, he is a professor in the Department of Literatures & Cultural Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he teaches courses on children's and adolescent literature.[1] [4]
Awards and honors
- Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry: awarded the Texas Institute of Letters' 2014 Soeurette Diehl Fraser Award for Best Translation.[14]
- TOP SHELF Book Review Column: received a 2014 Texas Associated Press Managing Editors' Headliners Excellence in Journalism Award for Comment and Criticism.[15]
- The Smoking Mirror was selected as a Pura Belpré Honor Book in 2016 by the American Library Association.[16]
Works
AS AUTHOR
- Lords of the Earth. Hobart, Australia: Severed Press, 2016.
- Ghosts of the Rio Grande Valley. Charleston: The History Press, 2016.
- A Kingdom Beneath the Waves (Garza Twins #2). Melbourne: IFWG Publishing, 2016.
- Border Lore: Folktales and Legends of South Texas. Beaumont, TX: Lamar University Press, 2015.
- The Smoking Mirror (Garza Twins #1). Melbourne: IFWG Publishing, 2015.
- Strange Texas Tales That Never Die (Volumes 1-4). Killeen, TX: Overlooked Books, 2014.
- Shattering and Bricolage. Dallas, TX: Ink Brush Press, 2014.
- Creature Feature: 13 Frightening Folktales of the Rio Grande Valley. McAllen, TX: AIM Media Texas, 2013.
- Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry. Beaumont, TX: Lamar University Press, 2013.
- Mexican Bestiary. Donna, TX: VAO Publishing, 2012.
- The Seed: Stories from the River's Edge. Spring, TX: Absey & Co., 2011.
AS EDITOR
- Along the River (Volumes 1-3). Series editor. Donna, TX: VAO Publishing, 2011-2014.
- Donna Hooks Fletcher: Life and Writings. Donna, TX: VAO Publishing, 2012.
- Stories That Must Not Die. Series editor. San Antonio: National Educational Systems, 2012-2013.
AS CONTRIBUTOR
- ¡Juventud! Growing up on the Border. René Saldaña, Jr. and Erika Garza-Johnson, editors. Donna, TX: VAO Publishing, 2013.
- Goodbye, Mexico: Poems of Remembrance. Sarah Cortez, editor. Huntsville, TX: Texas Review Press, 2015.
Notes
- 1 2 & UTRGV.
- 1 2 Stories of Shapeshifting.
- 1 2 3 Meet David Bowles.
- 1 2 3 Donna Author on National TV.
- 1 2 & TEDx.
- ↑ IMDB.
- ↑ Flower, Song, Dance.
- ↑ Perform with Drums.
- 1 2 Interview with David Bowles.
- ↑ Introduction.
- ↑ Tangent Review.
- ↑ TSM Postcard.
- ↑ Bowles on Inclusive Literature.
- ↑ TIL Award List.
- ↑ TAPME Award List.
- ↑ 2016 ALA Winners.
References
- Madeline Smither (2014). "Donna author to talk about 'Big Bird' local legend on national TV". The Monitor. The Monitor. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Rasmussen, Peter (July 28, 2015). "The Smoking Mirror: Stories of Shapeshifting Drive Bowles' New Novel". The Monitor. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Vourvoulias, Sabrina (April 10, 2015). "Meet David Bowles, author of The Smoking Mirror". AL DÍA. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Vourvoulias, Sabrina (June 29, 2015). "Introduction to "Winds that Stir Vermillion Sands"". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Fowler, Olivia (2015). "Author Interview: David Bowles on Inclusive Literature, the Hugos, and the Future of Genre Fiction". Geeka Chicas. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Texas Associated Press Managing Editors (March 31, 2015). "2014 Texas APME Awards List". Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
- Cummins, Amy (July 2015). "Postcard Review of The Smoking Mirror" (PDF). Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature. 53 (3): 81–101.
- Birkelbach, Alan (June 2014). "Perform with Drums (A Review of Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry)" (PDF). American Book Review. 35 (4): 22–23.
- Hoerth, Katherine (Winter 2014). "Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry". Pleiades. 34 (1): 248–250.
- Texas Institute of Letters (n.d.). "Winners Announced in Texas Institute of Letters Competitions" (PDF). Texas Institute of Letters. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Texter, Douglas (May 15, 2015). "Review of Apex Magazine #72". Tangent. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Gyasi, Geosi (March 24, 2015). "Interview with David Bowles, Author of The Seed". Geosi Reads: A World of Literary Pieces. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- IMDB (n.d.). "David Bowles". IMDB. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Donna Independent School District (n.d.). "Bilingual/ESL Department". Donna ISD. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- PR Newswire (January 11, 2016). "American Library Association announces 2016 youth media award winners". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- UTRGV (n.d.). "Dr. David Bowles". UTRGV. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
- David Bowles (Presenter) (October 6, 2015). Story and Identity: Moving Beyond the Self (video). McAllen: TEDx. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Bowles (author). |
- Official website
- David Bowles at the Internet Movie Database
- David Bowles at WorldCat – multiple people with this name