The Modern World of Neith Boyce: Autobiography and Diaries

The Modern World of Neith Boyce: Autobiography and Diaries by DeBoer-Langworthy, Carol. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780826331472.

Well known in the first two decades of the twentieth century for her fiction, plays, poetry, and articles, Neith Boyce (1872�1951) witnessed at first hand many of the artistic and literary movements of the time. She is remembered today primarily for her marriage to journalist Hutchins Hapgood and their mutual struggle with the theories of free love that permeated their Greenwich Village circle. This edition of Boyce�s hitherto unpublished autobiography and diaries foregrounds Neith herself, portraying her as a one-woman exemplar of the ideas we now group together under the name of modernism. Anyone interested in the history of American modernism will find the writings collected in this volume a fascinating window into the period. Boyce�s early life was spent in California. Her father was a co-founder of the Los Angeles Times, and Neith became part of the bohemian life of the city before moving east. Two of the documents in this volume record her European sojourns of 1903 and 1914, where she was acquainted with Gertrude Stein and Mabel Dodge, both of whom remained part of her life after her return to the United States. She was also involved with, among others, the influential free verse poet Mina Loy and the New American Theater movement associated with the Provincetown Players. The texts presented here are also of interest in the burgeoning field of women�s diaries. Boyce�s autobiography in particular crosses the boundaries of traditional genres, taking liberties with time, form, and identities. Today we can recognize her as a pioneer of what is now known as creative nonfiction.Visit the editors website at http://www.neithboyce.net