The Paris lesbians had to free themselves from male authority, the controlling hand, the forbidding edict. They escaped the disapproval of fathers and the repression of censors and lawmakers, defined their own terms and shaped their own lives. They did not reject all men – they were intrinsic to furthering the careers of writers, film-makers and artists whose work and ideas they admired. What shifted was the power base, the chain of command." The extraordinary story of how a singular group of women in a pivotal time and place - Paris, Between the Wars - fostered the birth of the Modernist movement.

No Modernism Without Lesbians by Diana Souhami – review

In this group biography, Souhami focuses on the remarkable lives of four visionary women who lived in Paris in between the two world wars and were significantly involved in the emergence of modernism as a literary and cultural movement. Sylvia Beach started the legendary Paris bookshop, Shakespeare and Company. She also published James Joyce's Ulysses, a controversial novel with which no other publisher in the world would even think of being associated at that time. Bryher, the daughter of the richest man in England, used her vast inheritance to fund new writing and film, support struggling artists, writers, and thinkers. Natalie Barney, most wealthy of all, strived to create a new Lesbos, the sapphic centre of the Western world, right in Paris. She embraced her lesbianism, had a plethora of concurrent romantic affairs, and lived like there was no tomorrow. Gertrude Stein was extremely pivotal in advancing the careers of modernist painters and writers, her stamp of approval was sought far and wide. She also broke the limits of what English prose can do and distilled lived realities into her works but her genius was tragically underappreciated.Found myself waiting to hear an actual point being said but things are either alluded to or taken as a matter of fact or if a point is made it’s often rephrased a couple more times to idk fill up time I guess Weird things don’t get challenged like on one ep a guest says she doesn’t like Florence and t he machine bc of it’s pre raphaelite aesthetics which she doesn’t like due to its conservative connotations I find this a little bit insane and thought Jessa would question it but she seems to want to be friendly and agreeable way more than have an interesting discussion there is a real sense of sitting in on two snobby leftists who think they’re not snobby leftists bc they call out other leftists for being snobby leftists Dianna Souhami has worked for decades as a chronicler of sexual subcultures in early 20th century Europe, and finally, she is allowed to deliver her thesis: without this network of lesbians, the parties they through and the lovers they supported, modernism would not have been possible. She speaks with Jessa about our limited ideas of creativity and genius, why rewriting history is still important, and the lifelong project of lineage.

No Modernism Without Lesbians by Diana Souhami

Digital Reads A Curse For True Love : the thrilling final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart seriesCunningham, John (27 April 2002). "The real Robinson Crusoe". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 March 2014.

No Modernism Without Lesbians - Kindle edition by Souhami No Modernism Without Lesbians - Kindle edition by Souhami

Souhami: I think that’s right. I mean, I couldn’t totally approve of Natalie Barney—she said she once had 18 assignations in one night.These four women were utterly fantastic, so interesting and Diana captured this beautifully with her writing. I had the opportunity to speak to Diana and loved just how much she cares about all of her lesbians.