the first time I wrote to Djuna Barnes was to inform her that
I'd put together a handout for my students. it was titled
"How Djuna Barnes Starts Stories." it was a list of the
first lines of her delicious short stories.
I took her flowers once but she didn't answer her door.
however I did see her one time on the street.
she was elegant in a suit. I didn't bother her.
my major encounter with the celebratd author of Nightwood
was when I edited a festschrift for her 80th birthday.
(I told the story of that publication in Mary Lynn Broe's
Silence and Power.) here's the cover:
it surprises me that today wd be her 120th birthday.
all those years gone by. to honor her I just read
"A Night among the Horses" with its images of whips & sequins.
I'd put together a handout for my students. it was titled
"How Djuna Barnes Starts Stories." it was a list of the
first lines of her delicious short stories.
I took her flowers once but she didn't answer her door.
however I did see her one time on the street.
she was elegant in a suit. I didn't bother her.
my major encounter with the celebratd author of Nightwood
was when I edited a festschrift for her 80th birthday.
(I told the story of that publication in Mary Lynn Broe's
Silence and Power.) here's the cover:
it surprises me that today wd be her 120th birthday.
all those years gone by. to honor her I just read
"A Night among the Horses" with its images of whips & sequins.
Djuna Barnes (June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American writer
who played an important part in the development of 20th century
English language modernist writing and was one of the key figures
in 1920s and 30s bohemian Paris after filling a similar role in the
Greenwich Village of the teens. Her novel Nightwood became
a cult work of modern fiction, helped by an introduction by
T. S. Eliot. It stands out today for its portrayal of lesbian themes
and its distinctive writing style. As a roman à clef, the novel features
a thinly veiled portrait of Barnes in the character of Nora Flood,
whereas Nora’s lover Robin Vote is a composite of Thelma Wood
and the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Since Barnes's death,
interest in her work has grown and many of her books are back in print.
who played an important part in the development of 20th century
English language modernist writing and was one of the key figures
in 1920s and 30s bohemian Paris after filling a similar role in the
Greenwich Village of the teens. Her novel Nightwood became
a cult work of modern fiction, helped by an introduction by
T. S. Eliot. It stands out today for its portrayal of lesbian themes
and its distinctive writing style. As a roman à clef, the novel features
a thinly veiled portrait of Barnes in the character of Nora Flood,
whereas Nora’s lover Robin Vote is a composite of Thelma Wood
and the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Since Barnes's death,
interest in her work has grown and many of her books are back in print.
Although Barnes had other female lovers, in her later years she was
known to claim, "I am not a lesbian; I just loved Thelma Wood."
known to claim, "I am not a lesbian; I just loved Thelma Wood."
Barnes was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1961.
She was the last surviving member of the first generation of
English-language modernists when she died in New York in 1982.
She was the last surviving member of the first generation of
English-language modernists when she died in New York in 1982.
repost courtesy~ alex gildzen~ santa fe/antebellum correspondent
thx for reposting.
ReplyDeletethe 2nd picture (woman with masks on her hat) is Janet Flanner.