Louise Varèse (; ; 20 November 1890 – 1 July 1989), also credited as Louise Norton or Louise Norton-Varèse, was an American writer, editor, and translator of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

who was involved with

New York Dada New York Dada was a regionalized extension of Dada, an artistic and cultural movement between the years 1913 and 1923. Usually considered to have been instigated by Marcel Duchamp's ''Fountain'' exhibited at the first exhibition of the Society of I ...

ism.

Early life and education

Varèse was born Louise McCutcheon in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, to John Lindsay McCutcheon and Mary Louise Taylor. She attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

(class of 1912), but left in the fall of 1911 to marry

Allen Norton Allen Norton (1878?-1945?) was an American poet and literary editor of the 1910s and 20s. His father, E.L. Norton, was a stock broker. He went to Harvard, where he specialized in literature and began writing poetry. He and his wife Louise Norto ...

Career

Varèse founded and edited the modernist magazine ''Rogue'' (a play off of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'') with her then-husband, Allen Norton, from 1915 to 1916. She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "''Dame Rogue".'' Under this pseudonym, Varèse wrote a fashion column called "Philosophic Fashions." She was also a contributor to the

magazine ''

The Blind Man ''The Blind Man'' was an art and Dada journal published briefly by the New York Dadaists in 1917. History Henri-Pierre Roché and Marcel Duchamp, visiting from France, organized the magazine with Beatrice Wood in New York City. Mina Loy also c ...

''. Varèse (then Norton) met

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

in 1915 and became close friends. She was involved in the 1917

Society of Independent Artists Society of Independent Artists was an association of American artists founded in 1916 and based in New York. Background Based on the French Société des Artistes Indépendants, the goal of the society was to hold annual exhibitions by avant-gard ...

submission of a urinal under the name R.Mutt known as ''

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

''. She wrote a defense of the work titled "Buddha of the Bathroom" in issue 2 of ''The Blind Man.'' Her address also appears on the label of ''Fountain'' as seen in the

Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was kno ...

photograph of the work and her phone number was given as an alternative to Duchamp's as press contact. As such, she is a likely candidate for the "female friend" Duchamp mentions in a letter dated 11 April 1917 to his sister Suzanne: "Une de mes amies sous un pseudonyme masculin, Richard Mutt, avait envoyé une pissotière en porcelaine comme sculpture" ("One of my female friends under a masculine pseudonym, Richard Mutt, sent in a porcelain urinal as a sculpture."). Varèse translated poetry and other works by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

Julien Gracq Julien Gracq (; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French ''département'' of Maine-et-Loire) was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were note ...

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

, and

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

. Her translations of the work of

for

James Laughlin James Laughlin (October 30, 1914 – November 12, 1997) was an American poet and literary book publisher who founded New Directions Publishing. Early life He was born in Pittsburgh, the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin. Laughlin ...

's New Directions imprint were particularly influential. In 1956, she translated the section "The Great Improvisation" from

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

's poetic drama ''

Dziady Dziady ( Belarusian: , Russian: , Ukrainian: , pl, Dziady; lit. "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals ...

''. She played an important role in the

International Composers' Guild The International Composers' Guild was an organization created in 1921 by Edgard Varèse and Carlos Salzedo. It was responsible for performances and premieres of works by Béla Bartók, Alban Berg, Erik Satie, Carlos Chávez, Henry Cowell, Cha ...

, and included material about this organisation in her book ''Varèse; a looking-glass diary'' (1972).Contact: A Journal for Contemporary Music (1971-1988) http://contactjournal.gold.ac.ukCitation Cox, David Harold. 1977. ‘Review of Varese: "A Looking-Glass Diary, Volume 1: 1883-1928" by Louise Varèse’, "Contact", 16. pp. 21-23. ISSN 0308-5066
/ref> She was also a contributing writer for

Lapham's Quarterly ''Lapham's Quarterly'' is a literary magazine established in 2007 by former '' Harper's Magazine'' editor Lewis H. Lapham. Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history. The inaugural issue "States of War" contained doze ...

. In 1972, she wrote a biography of her late second husband, Edgard Varèse, titled: ''Varèse: A Looking-Glass Diary.'' For the exhibition ''Marcel Duchamp'' at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

in 1973, Varèse wrote an essay titled ''Marcel Duchamp at Play.''

Personal life

Her first husband was poet and literary editor Allen Norton, the couple had a son, Michael in 1912, separated in 1916, and divorced in 1920. Louise also had a granddaughter, Sylvia Calderwood. In 1922 she married composer

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

; they remained together until his death in 1965.

Death

Varèse died on July 1, 1989 at the age of 98 in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

Awards

*In 1948, Varèse was awarded the

Denyse Clairouin Denyse Henriette Léonie Clairouin (27 August 1900 in Paris – 12 March 1945 in Mauthausen) was a French translator and French Resistance, Resistance fighter. During the Second World War, she was part of the Resistance (group Secret Army). She ...

Award for her translation of '' Paris Spleen'' by

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

. *She was awarded the Chevalier de l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in 1969. *Varèse was awarded MacDowell fellowships from 1967 through 1975.

Bibliography

Fiction

* Norton, Louise. ''Little wax candle; a farce in one act''. New York: Claire Marie, 1914.

Nonfiction

* Norton arèse Louise. "Buddha of the Bathroom," ''The'' ''Blind Man 2''. May 1917: 5–6. * Varèse, Louise. ''Varèse; a looking-glass diary''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1972. *

orton Orton may refer to: Places England * Orton, Eden, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Orton, Carlisle, Cumbria, a parish * Orton, Northamptonshire, a village and civil parish *Orton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire * Orton, Staffordshire, a hamlet ...

Varèse. Louise. "Marcel Duchamp at Play," in ''Marcel Duchamp'', ed. Anne d'Harnoncourt and Kynaston McShine. New York: Museum of Modern Art; Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. 1973; rpt. 1989. 224–225.

Translations

, ''Éloges and Other Poems'', W. W. Norton & Company, 1944. *

A Season in Hell ''A Season in Hell'' (french: Une Saison en Enfer}) is an extended poem in prose written and published in 1873 by French writer Arthur Rimbaud. It is the only work that was published by Rimbaud himself. The book had a considerable influence ...

, New Directions, 1945. *

Illuminations Illuminations may refer to: Shows and festivals * IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a nightly fireworks show currently at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort *'' IllumiNations'', original nightly firework show at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resor ...

, New Directions, 1946. *

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

, ''Joy'',

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

, 1946. * Jacques Lemarchand, ''Parenthesis'',

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, 1947. *

, Paris Spleen: 1869, New Directions, 1947. *

, ''Pleasures and Regrets'', Crown Publishers, 1946. *

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

, ''The Chips are Down'', Lear Publishers, 1948. *

, ''The Green Huntsman'', New Directions, 1950. *

, ''Joy'', Pantheon, 1951. *

, ''The Heart Of A Man'',

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishe ...

, 1951. *

, ''The Girl in His Past'', Prentice-Hall, 1952. *

, ''I Take This Woman'', Signet, 1953. *

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim ...

, ''Miserable Miracle (Mescaline''),

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected tit ...

, 1956.

References

External links

Louise Varèse papers
at the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, ar ...

, Smith College Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Varese, Louise 1890 births 1989 deaths Writers from Pittsburgh American translators French–English translators Translators of Marcel Proust Dada Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres MacDowell Colony fellows 20th-century translators