Djuna Barnes (12 June, 1892-18 June, 1982) was an Artist, journalist, illustrator and writer who was a fixture in the bohemian circles of New York and Paris.
Fun facts about Djuna Barnes:
1. Djuna Barnes was born in a log cabin on Storm King Mountain, on the west side of the Hudson River in upstate New York. Her father, Wald Barnes, was an unsuccessful, eccentric musician and polygamist. He grandmother, Zadel Barnes however was an influential writer, journalist and suffragette. The name “Djuna” was made up by her father.
2. Wald and her mother Elizabeth (née Chappell) had five children, and another four were born from Wald’s live in mistress Fanny (Frances Clark). As the second oldest, young Djuna spent most of her childhood helping to take care of her siblings.
3. Elizabeth took Djuna and three of her brothers and moved to New York City in 1912 and promptly filed for divorce. In NYC, young Djuan was finally able to take art formal classes which she loved. However, she also bore the burden of providing for her family and started to work as a reporter for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
4. Djuna Barnes found much success in her new occupation. She practiced what is now call “stunt journalism”, such as being forced-fed (being used on suffragists that went on hunger strikes), and interviews such luminaries as James Joyce, Donald Ogden Steward, and Dinah-a gorilla at the Bronx Zoo.
Her articles were published in almost every newspaper in New York. She also illustrated many of her early columns.
5. She moved to Paris in 1920, by that time she was already an icon of Greenwich Village’s bohemian scene. Ms. Barnes joined the “lost generation” of writers, and close friends with many of time. James Joyce even gave her the original, handwritten page proofs of Ulysses.
6. In 1936 she published what is considered to be her masterpiece, Nightwood. The novel is a dense and poetic, while using gothic prose and was one of the first books to portray gender fluidity and lesbian relationships. The book was based on her eight year relationship with Thelma Wood while living in Paris.
7. Because of its themes, Djuna Barnes’s Nightwood had a tough time finding a publisher. Faber & Faber’s editor, no other than T. S. Eliot, loved the manuscript, gave it a once over to pass British censorship laws and wrote a glowing introduction.
8. Djuna Barnes was a perfectionist when it came to her writing. She could spend decades rewriting her works and agonizing over every syllable.
9. Art collector Peggy Guggenheim stepped in as Djuna Barnes’ patron when she fell into dire-straits and alcoholism. Her neighbor, poet E. E. Cummings checked up on he by shouting out of his window “Are you still alive, Djuna?”
10. Djuna Barnes became a recluse, but her contributions weren’t forgotten. In 1977 she was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In an interview she gave, she said that modern fiction writers are “structurally lazy, and completely lacking in poetic rhythm”.
Zohar — Man of la Book
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Sources:
Djuna Barnes | Wikipedia
Djuna Barnes | Legacy Project Chicago
DJUNA BARNES DIES; POET AND NOVELIST |The New York Times
