Djuna Barnes (1892–1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer whose significant contributions spanned literature, journalism, and visual arts. She was a notable figure in the avant-garde literary circles of the 1920s and 1930s Paris. She was renowned for her groundbreaking prose, sharp wit, and fearlessly exploring taboo subjects like gender, sexuality, and the complexities of human relationships.
Born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, Barnes received early education from her father and grandmother. She later pursued studies at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. In 1913, she embarked on an artist and journalist career, working for publications such as The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and published a remarkable chapbook called The Book of Repulsive Women: 8 Rhythms and 5 Drawings (1915.) Furthermore, three of her plays were produced by the Provincetown Players.
For a considerable period, Barnes immersed herself in the bohemian world of Greenwich Village before making a move to Paris in 1920. During her time there, she conducted interviews with notable celebrities, ranging from Florenz Ziegfield to Coco Chanel. She formed friendships with luminaries such as James Joyce, Emily Coleman, and Gertrude Stein. In 1923, she authored and illustrated a collection of plays, short stories, and poems titled A Book, which underwent subsequent expansions and revisions. Her work Ladies Almanack (1928) satirically portrayed literary lesbians, while her novel Ryder (1928) was hailed as a female rendition of Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones.
Barnes’s second novel, Nightwood (1936,) truly solidified her reputation. The story revolves around Nora Flood, her romantic entanglements, and her spiritual guide, Dr. O’Conner, a transvestite. Widely regarded as her magnum opus, this experimental novel delves into five extraordinary individuals’ intricate relationships and ill-fated loves. It combines horror, dark humor, and a seamlessly flowing writing style reminiscent of earlier literary periods. Barnes also penned a verse drama titled The Antiphon (1958.) After returning to the United States in 1940, she led a reclusive life in Greenwich Village, writing sparingly. Rarely venturing outside her home, she spent her final three decades working on a lengthy poem discovered in her apartment after her passing.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Djuna Barnes
Sleep demands of us a guilty immunity. There is not one of us who, given an eternal incognito, a thumbprint nowhere set against our souls, would not commit rape, murder and all abominations.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Sleep
After all, it is not where one washes one’s neck that counts but where one moistens one’s throat.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Beauty
An image is a stop the mind makes between uncertainties.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Uncertainty
The heart of the jealous knows the best and most satisfying love, that of the other’s bed, where the rival perfects the lover’s imperfections.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Jealousy
Well, isn’t Bohemia a place where everyone is as good as everyone else—and must not a waiter be a little less than a waiter to be a good Bohemian?
—Djuna Barnes
Dreams have only the pigmentation of fact.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Dreams
We are beginning to wonder whether a servant girl hasn’t the best of it after all. She knows how the salad tastes without the dressing, and she knows how life’s lived before it gets to the parlor door.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Service, Servants
The night is a skin pulled over the head of day that the day may be in torment.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Night
A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.
—Djuna Barnes
Topics: Identity
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