Djuna Barnes

Djuna Barnes was born on June 12, 1892. She was born in a place called Storm King Mountain, New York. She was the second of four children. Her family was not like most families. They loved art and did not follow normal rules.

Djuna's father, Wald Barnes, was a musician. He wrote music and played it too. Her grandmother, Zadel Barnes, was a writer. Zadel also fought for what she believed was right. She helped teach Djuna many things when she was young. Djuna did not go to regular school much. Instead, she learned from her family and from books.

In 1912, Djuna's parents got divorced. Djuna moved to New York City with her mother and brothers and sister. In the city, she went to an art school called Pratt Institute. She did not stay long. She also learned from an artist named Charles Hawthorne. He helped her get better at art and writing.

Djuna started working as a journalist. A journalist is someone who writes news stories. She wrote for newspapers like the Brooklyn Eagle. Her stories often talked about things that made people think or argue. She also wrote short plays. This showed she could write many kinds of stories, not just one kind.

In the 1920s, Djuna moved to Paris, France. Many artists and writers lived there at that time. She became friends with famous writers like Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Ezra Pound. In 1915, before she moved, she had written a book of poems. It was called The Book of Repulsive Women.

Djuna's most famous book came out in 1936. It is called Nightwood. People still study this book today. It has beautiful, tricky language and a story that is not simple. A famous poet named T.S. Eliot liked the book so much that he wrote the introduction for it. Nightwood talks about love, who we are, and how some people feel left out by society.

During her life, Djuna's books did not sell a lot of copies. But other writers and artists thought her work was very good. Over time, more people began to study Nightwood in schools. It became known as an important piece of modern literature.

Djuna did not talk much in public about who she loved. But she had relationships with women. Her writing often explored ideas about gender and love in ways that were brave for her time. Many people study her books today to learn about these ideas.

Djuna Barnes is remembered as an important writer. She was part of a group of writers who lived in Paris and changed how books were written. She wrote about people who felt different or left out. This took courage because many people did not accept these ideas back then.

When Djuna got older, she did not go out in public much. She lived quietly in a part of New York City called Greenwich Village. She still wrote sometimes, but she did not publish much after 1940. Djuna Barnes died on June 18, 1982. She left behind important books that people still read and study today.