Natalie Clifford Barney

Natalie Clifford Barney (31 October 1876 – 24 April 1972) was an American expatriate who lived, wrote, and ran a famous salon at 20 Rue Jacob in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. She was a poet, memoirist and epigrammatist, but believed her life was her true work of art. Barney was publicly lesbian, and worked to revive a literary history for women. She was especially interested in the poems of Sappho and tried to recreate a school of women poets like the one that Sappho had on Mytilene. Barney was also infamous for her many conquests in love (including the poet Renee Vivien, the dancer Liane de Pougy and the painter Romaine Brooks), and her commitment non-monogamy.

Related Topics:
31 October - 1876 - 24 April - 1972 - American - Paris - 20th century - Sappho - Renee Vivien - Romaine Brooks

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Barney's life has provided inspiration for many writers, and she is portrayed in many novels of the time, including Liane de Pougy's Idylle sapphique (Sapphic Idyll, 1901), Colette's Claudine s'en va (Claudine and Annie, 1903), Radcliffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (1928), Djuna Barnes' Ladies Almanack, and Lucie Delarue Mardrus's L'Ange et les pervers (The Angel and the Perverts, 1930).

Related Topics:
Liane de Pougy - Colette - Radcliffe Hall - Djuna Barnes - Lucie Delarue Mardrus

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Barney wrote almost exclusively in French. Most of her plays and poetry collections have never been translated, and are still only available in French. These works include:

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