In today’s world, marked by extractions and casual annihilations, revisiting the flawed logics of the early 20th century seems inevitable. Yet, modernism provides an unexpected survival kit. Recently, there’s been a resurgence of translations and publications of bold works by modernist writers and artists, including Gabriel Pomerand’s lively Lettrism, Yi Sang’s homophonic poetry, Leonora Carrington’s dreamlike liberation, and Joyce Mansour’s journey from margin to center. Collectively, these works form a dream-inspired arsenal of resistance.
The latest addition is Claude Cahun’s Cancelled Confessions (Or Disavowals) (1930), translated by Susan de Muth and released by Siglio Press this October. Summarizing Claude Cahun’s biography is challenging, as it contradicts the artist’s multifaceted identity. Cahun’s name is a creation, as is the name of Cahun’s artistic and life partner, Marcel Moore. These pseudonyms imply that identity is mutable, capable of being reshaped and redefined. Both were involved in the Paris Surrealist movement and relocated to Jersey in 1937, creating art and resisting Nazi occupation through various media, including theater, photography, text, and domesticity.
Cancelled Confessions defies linear storytelling, a project initially commissioned by Adrienne Monnier but rejected and later embraced by a more radical publisher in 1930. This work is a testament to endless creativity. Scholar Amelia Groom notes in her afterword that even Cahun’s famous ‘self-portraits’ were collaborative efforts with Moore, who captured Cahun in diverse costumes and poses using photographic techniques. While Cahun is credited as the author, Moore crafted the intricate photomontages introducing each section of the book, blending Cahun’s fictionalized image with a myriad of reflections and avatars.
The text itself is a rich tapestry, divided into nine sections with subsections of declarations, dialogues, sketches, and paradoxes. Cahun’s writing style is described as ‘verbal debauchery’ and self-reflective; one passage reads, ‘We are only ever shown the hero’s point of view. But what if I take a minor player’s side?’ De Muth’s translation captures the playful and stylish nature of Cahun’s prose, filled with puns and a unique drive towards plurality. The figure of Narcissus symbolizes the book’s paradoxical essence, as Cahun writes about extracting the infinite from reflection.
Siglio Press’s edition of Cancelled Confessions is a beautifully designed oxblood-red volume, a testament to the merging of writing and art. This significant work, alongside other modernist publications, owes its existence to the dedicated efforts of translators and independent publishers like Siglio, World Poetry Book, Wave, New York Review Books, and City Lights. It’s a reminder that survival is inherently collaborative.
