In honor of Pride Month, we thought we would re-share the story of Daytonian Natalie Clifford Barney.
“I built a fire to welcome her
And my voice sighed
Aloud her name. To be with her
This night, I would have died…”
Natalie Clifford Barney was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1876, to an affluent family. By age twelve, Natalie knew she was a lesbian. Although society in the late 1800’s was very conservative, Natalie knew she would “Live openly, without hiding anything.”
Natalie developed an interest in the French language as a child. Her governess often read Jules Vern stores aloud to her in French, and she had to learn the language quickly to understand the stories. In adulthood, Natalie was fluent in French, and published most of her work in French.
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