Among the Decadents: Nancy Cunard's Art of Imitation

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines Nancy Cunard's early poetry in light of ongoing debates about the relationship between modernism and decadence. Rather than positioning Cunard as a 'dilettante', 'rebel' or 'muse', it suggests that she was a poet in her own right, adopting a modernist-decadent style. Through a close reading of her early poetry, published in the collections Outlaws and Sublunary , and her long poem Parallax , the article considers Cunard's poetry as an example of a continued decadence, showing how Cunard adopted decadent motifs and strategies in her work.