Djuna Barnes, the woman who mingled with the Lost Generation was born in 1892 in New York and would leave her mark in Paris.
Born into a rather different family, her father had two wives and would later marry Djuna off to his second wife's brother. Shortly after her mother had too much she took her kids and left for New York. There Djuna began working as a writer for the New York Eagle. Not only was she a talented writer but also an illustrator who would draw pictures that accompanied each of her articles.
In 1921 she arrived in Paris and settled in Saint Germain. She instantly mingled with the newly arriving American ex-pat group and the large group of lesbians that settled in Paris led by Natalie Barney, who will talk about next week. The two had a short affair, which was a right of passage for just about every lesbian that arrived in Paris. Their relationship was short but remained friends as long as Djuna lived in Paris.
Involved with Thelma Wood while in Paris, the two had a volatile relationship that was very public resulting in arguments due to Thelma’s drinking. After it ended Djuna turned to drinking too much and also wrote The Nightwood based on their love affair and her best-known book. She began writing the book sitting in the Cafe de la Mairie across from Saint Sulpice where many other writers would do the same.
When her drinking became too much, friend Peggy Guggenheim sent her to London and finally back to New York where she would spend time in an asylum. While there she decided to write a play about the dark dirty secrets of her family which didn’t please her family at all. She would spend the rest of her life alone and living like a recluse in her New York apartment and lived until she was 90 years old, dying just 6 days after her birthday June 18, 1982.
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