The Forgotten Poet: Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven and Her Contribution to Modernism

The Baroness, Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven’s, poetry and readymade collection has long been ignored throughout discussion of the modernist era. A revolutionary Dadaist and creator of the readymade, this presentation will do a deep dive into how women like the Baroness, are often left out of academic conversations and not given the recognition that they rightfully deserve. Although the second wave of feminism resulted in a resurgence towards the general population giving credit to women’s contributions in academia, women that are outwardly sexual are still shunned from the public eye. Resulting in the question of how leaving sexual, fem-presenting individuals, like Freytag-Loringhoven, out of academic history, shapes modern education. Thus, reporting on who Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven was, and how she helped shape modernism into what academics know it to currently be, will be used to encourage a change in how we teach modernism for the future.