It’s that time of the year again, when costumed apparitions turn society on its head, strange creatures emerge from the undergrowth, and the most diffident wallflower can blossom into a glamorous orchidaceous vision.
Yes, it’s Natalie Clifford Barney‘s birthday. And over at screenwriter Susanne Stroh‘s site, they’re celebrating with quizzes, giveaways and interviews: Jean-Loup Combemale discusses Élisabeth de Gramont, Cassandre Langer talks about Barney’s longtime partner Romaine Brooks, and Suzanne Rodriguez – author of the essential Wild Heart – will be sharing her insights into the birthday girl, so you’ll be in fine company. Find out what happened on Barney’s 50th birthday on this day in 1926 when Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Colette, Djuna Barnes and la toute lesbohème parisienne turned up at the famous salon.
If the above hasn’t sufficiently tempted you it remains only for me to say: THERE WILL BE CHAMPAGNE.
