1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. A quick content warning before we start the 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: show today, this episode contains mention of sexual abuse. Hey y'all, 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: I'm Eves and welcome to This Day in History Class, 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: a podcast that brings a little bit of the past 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: to the present. Every day Today is June. The day 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: was June. Writer and illustrator Juna Barnes was born in 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: Cornwall on Hudson, New York. Barnes is best known for 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: writing the modernist novel Nightwood. Barnes's grandmother, Saddle, had a 10 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: big influence on her. Saddle was also a writer, and 11 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: she advocated causes like spiritualism and the philosophy of free love. 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: There is some indication that Barnes may have faced sexual 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: abuse and incests through her family relationships, and these themes 14 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: show up in her work work, but Junah never confirmed this. However, 15 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: her family did encourage her to marry Percy Faulkner, a 16 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: fifty two year old, when she was around eighteen. They 17 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: only stayed together for a few months. Barnes began writing 18 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: at an early age to support her mother and brothers. 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: She studied at Pratt Institute and the Art Students League 20 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: of New York for a while, and she worked as 21 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: a freelancer, writing for magazines and newspapers like the Brooklyn 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,119 Speaker 1: Daily Eagle, the New York Press, New York World Magazine, 23 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 1: and New York Morning Telegraph. A lot of her work 24 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: was so called stunt journalism that was subjective. For instance, 25 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: in nineteen fourteen, she opted to be force fit to 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: experience what suffragists on hunger strikes were going through. In 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: addition to her journalism, Barnes was also writing poems, short 28 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: stories in one act plays, as well as creating drawings 29 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: that were being published in small press magazines. In nineteen fifteen, 30 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: her chat book called The Book of Repulsive Women, Eight 31 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: Rhythms and Five Drawings was published. The chat book contained 32 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: lesbian imagery at a time when writing was being censored 33 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: for sexual content, but the collection avoided censorship as censors 34 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: and some readers did not always understand the references in 35 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: the work. Barnes got some recognition for three one act 36 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: plays that were produced by a collective called the Province 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,519 Speaker 1: Town Players in nineteen nineteen and nineteen twenty. Barnes moved 38 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: to Paris in the nineteen twenties, joining artists and writer 39 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: circles in the city's Left Bank. In nineteen twenty two, 40 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: she interviewed writer James Joyce for Vanity Fair, and in 41 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: nineteen three she published a collection of poetry, plays and 42 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: stories called A Book. Writer. Barnes's first novel was published 43 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: in ninety eight. The chapters in the book are written 44 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: in different styles, and it's believed to be somewhat autobiographical. 45 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: It contained themes of sexuality and polygamy, and it was 46 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: censored when it was published. When Barnes and her editor 47 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,959 Speaker 1: were told to get rid of some of the texts 48 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: and drawings in the book, Barnes called for asterisk to 49 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: replace the censor parts so that there was quote matter 50 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: for no speculation, where since continuity and beauty have been damaged, 51 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: as she put it in the foreword to the book. 52 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: Her second novel, Nightwood, was published in ninety six. It's 53 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: considered one of the most influential novels of the modernist period. 54 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: It follows the love affairs of a woman named Robin 55 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: Vote in Paris, and it was noted for explicitly portraying 56 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: lesbian relationships. It contained moments of humor and moments of tragedy, 57 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: and it too had to be edited because of concerns 58 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: about censorship. The book got good reviews, but it didn't 59 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: sell that well. After Nightwood was published, Barnes dealt with depression, alcoholism, 60 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: and illness. She stopped writing and returned to New York 61 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: City for the rest of her life. She lived in 62 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: an apartment in Greenwich Village. During these years, Barnes became 63 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: somewhat reclusive. Her verse play The Antiphon was first published 64 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: in nine and it drew on her own family relationships, 65 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: and her collection of poetry, Creatures in an Alphabet was 66 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: published in two Larnes wrote mostly poetry in the last 67 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: two decades of her life, but she didn't publish as 68 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: much as you did previously. She died in nineteen eighty two. 69 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: Some of her early works were reprinted after her death, 70 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 1: and her writing has received renewed interest. I'm Eve chef 71 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: Cote and hopefully you know a little more about history 72 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. And you can hit us 73 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: up on social media where at T d i h 74 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: C Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also 75 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: send us an email at this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 76 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: Thanks again for listening. To the show and we'll see 77 00:04:51,880 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit 78 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 79 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.