Vivid and Repulsive as the Truth

The Early Works of Djuna Barnes

Djuna Barnes, Katharine Maller

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780486805597
• eBook ISBN: 9780486815220
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Collections littéraires LGBT

The self-described "most famous unknown author in the world," Djuna Barnes (1892 - 1982) is increasingly regarded as an important voice of feminism, modernism, and lesbian culture. Best remembered for her 1936 novel Nightwood, Barnes began her career by writing poetry, short stories, and articles for avant-garde literary journals as well as popular magazines. She took the grotesque nature of reality as her recurrent theme, a pessimistic world view frequently brightened by her sparkling wit.
A longtime resident of Greenwich Village, Barnes drew inspiration from the bustling streets of Lower Manhattan, and this eclectic compilation of her early journalism, fiction, and poetry recaptures the vitality of her bohemian literary scene. The collection opens with articles ranging from an account of an evening at the Arcadia, a "modern dance hall," to a firsthand report of the force-feeding endured by suffragettes in 1914. In addition to profiles of a postman, vaudeville performer, and other local personalities, Barnes interviews Lillian Russell and Alfred Stieglitz and describes an encounter with James Joyce. A dozen short stories follow, and the book concludes with a selection of compelling and sensual poetry, including verse from The Book of Repulsive Women. A selection of the author's original illustrations is included.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Introduction
• A Note on the Sources
• Contents
• Articles and Interviews
• You Can Tango—a Little—at Arcadia Dance Hall
• “Twingeless Twitchell” and His Tantalizing Tweezers
• Veterans in Harness, No. 1: Postman Joseph H. Dowling, Forty-two Years in Service
• Veterans in Harness, No. 2: Conductor “Kid” Connors, Forty Years Ringing Up Fares
• Veterans in Harness, No. 3: Waiter Patrick Dunne, Forty Years Carrying a Tray
• The Wild Aguglia and Her Monkeys
• “I Could Never Be Lonely Without a Husband,” says Lillian Russell
• My Sisters and I at a New York Prizefight
• How It Feels to Be Forcibly Fed
• The Girl and the Gorilla
• My Adventures Being Rescued
• Fashion Show Makes Girl Regret Life Isn’t All Redfern and Skittles
• Ruth Roye, Greatest “Nut” in Vaudeville
• Pet Superstitions of Sensible New Yorkers
• The Last Petit Souper (Greenwich Village in the Air—Ahem!)
• Greenwich Village As It Is
• Becoming Intimate with the Bohemians
• Frank Harris Finds Success More Easily Won Here in America than in England
• Alfred Stieglitz on Life and Pictures—“One Must Bleed His Own Blood”
• The Rider of Dreams is Here
• The Hem of Manhattan
• Yvette Guilbert
• Woman Police Deputy is Writer of Poetry
• James Joyce
• Fiction
• Paprika Johnson
• A Night Among the Horses
• The Terrible Peacock
• The Valet
• Smoke
• Katrina Silverstaff
• Prize Ticket
• Renunciation
• Finale
• The Earth
• The Coward
• The Diary of a Dangerous Child
• Poetry
• The Dreamer
• Call of the Night
• Just Lately Drummer Boy
• Solitude
• The Personal God
• This Much and More
• Death
• In Conclusion
• Dust
• Birth
• The Yellow Jar
• The Last Toast
• To an Idol
• Shadows
• Love Song
• Lines to a Lady
• The Lament of Women
• To the Hands of a Beloved
• To One in Favour
• To a Bird
• To the Dead Favorite of Liu Ch’e
• I’d Have You Think of Me
• From Fifth Avenue Up
• In General
• From Third Avenue On
• Seen from the ‘L’
• In Particular
• Twilight of the Illicit
• To a Cabaret Dancer
• Suicide