”Lesbian* Modernists” with Diana Souhami

In this episode, Diana Souhami explains how Modernism was fundamentally shaped by lesbians* and queer people. We talk about how Sylvia Beach published Joyce’s "Ulysses" when no publisher would touch it, how Bryher financed penniless artists who then became the crème de la crème of Modernism, how H.D. arguably wrote better imagist poetry than Pound, and which lesbian love affairs resulted in the most enticing scandals. Diana, who I may or may not have heard being referred to as Lesbian Royalty, has written an entire book about this: "No Modernism without Lesbians" (2020). From Paris salons of the early 20th century to fighting the patriarchy in the history books and syllabi of the 21st century, Diana covers it all.

Authors and books mentioned:
Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness
Sappho
Natalie Barney
Getrude Stein
Bryher
H.D.
Sylvia Beach
James Joyce’s Ulysses
T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland
Ezra Pound
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ernest Hemingway
Virginia Woolf’s Orlando
Vita Sackville-West
Violet Trefusis’ Broderie Anglaise
Oscar Wilde
Dolly Wilde
Janet Flanner

Publishers mentioned:
Contact Editions
Shakespeare and Company

Visual artists mentioned:
Picasso
Matisse
Cezanne
The Fauves

Diana Souhami’s books mentioned:
Gluck, 1895-1978: Her Autobiography
No Modernism Without Lesbians
Alice and Gertrude
Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter


Find out more about Diana here: https://dianasouhami.com/

If you’re looking for more lesbian content, follow @DianaSouhami on Twitter and check out @Lena_Mattheis as well.

“Silence is the biggest enemy of women* and lesbian women*. […] If you don’t exist, you can’t be any trouble.” (Diana Souhami in this episode)

Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:

1. Why were people such as Natalie Barney so inspired by Sappho? Why go back all the way to Ancient Greek poetry?
2. Why was Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness banned?
3. Why, according to Diana, would Modernism not have happened without lesbians*?
4. Why was Sylvia Beach “intrinsic to Modernism”?
5. What is a lavender marriage?
6. Which Paris salons were important for queer women and Modernist artists and why?