Death in Broom (1921-1924): Suicide and the Escape of Art after the Great War

Abstract

Broom was born of death, and continuously emerging as a concern of the magazine, death pervades Broom. Its presence speaks to a larger understanding of the magazine’s aesthetic positioning. Rather than simply unveiling a theme, I reveal how the concept of death does not just appear as subject matter, rather it undergirds the magazine’s search for a suitable art in the aftermath of World War I.