author
Djuna Barnes
1892–1982
Best known for the haunting modernist novel Nightwood, this fiercely original writer also worked as a journalist, illustrator, and playwright. Her life moved from bohemian Greenwich Village to literary Paris, and her work still feels sharp, strange, and alive.
1 Audiobook
A Book
by Djuna Barnes
About the author
Born in 1892, she became one of the most distinctive voices of literary modernism. Before she was widely known for fiction, she worked as a journalist and illustrator, building a reputation for bold style and close observation.
She was a vivid presence in the Paris literary world of the 1920s and 1930s, and her 1936 novel Nightwood became her best-known book. She also wrote poetry, plays, and experimental prose, with a body of work that is often noted for its wit, intensity, and emotional daring.
Later in life, she lived reclusively in New York and died in 1982. Though her published output was relatively small, her influence has lasted, especially among readers interested in modernism, queer literature, and formally adventurous writing.