Claire Myers Spotswood Owens

Claire Myers Owens (1896–1983) was an American novelist, essayist, and poet. She wrote a novel and several autobiographical books about spirituality and her experiences with Zen Buddhism. Her 1935 novel The Unpredictable Adventure was an allegory for how society treats women and was banned by the New York Public Library for being "too risque". Following a spiritual awakening she wrote the 1958 book Awakening to the Good, which praised by figures within the Human Potential Movement. Later in her life she studied Zen Buddhism and was involved with the Rochester Zen Center in New York. A native of Texas, she attended the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas Woman's University), graduating in 1913.

Early life and education Clairene Lenora Allen Myers was born on February 11, 1896, in Rockdale, Texas, to Susan and Coren Lee Myers. Her father was a principal at Troy High School in Troy. Their family moved to Temple where Clairene graduated from Temple High School in 1913.

Career After graduating from college, Claire wanted to "save the world overnight". She moved to Alabama where she worked as a social worker in a mining camp and taught kindergarten classes. Her parents were displeased with her choice and disinherited her. In 1918, Claire moved to an intentional community in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

During the 1920s she lived in New York where she was employed as a writer and worked at book stores. She became acquainted with published authors and penned reviews for Publishers Weekly.

Owens continued writing, producing short stories, essays, and poetry. She had a column in Today's Woman in the 1940s.

Owens experienced a spiritual awakening in 1949 and began to study psychology, especially the works of Carl Jung. She published her second book in 1958, Awakening to the Good: Psychological Or Religious?, which described her spiritual experience. It was praised by pioneers of the Human Potential Movement.

Works The Unpredictable Adventure: A Comedy of Woman's Independence (1935) Love is Not Enough (1958) Awakening to the Good: Psychological Or Religious? (1958) Discovery of Self (1963) Zen and the Lady (1979)