My friend and I are off to see the Stein Collection show, in our Gertrude Stein frenzy. There will be some wonderful art, and it will be another love-fest for Gertrude. In the intervening week, I have read my two books about her, and am ready to discover more reading material. She is my very favorite author, and there is a joy in imagining her being more widely read because of these two shows. People tend to read books about her, not by her, but there will be some stawarts who plunge in, I'm sure. Her humor is the most delightful aspect of her writing for me, but I am in awe of her accomplishments in freshening up the English language and shaking us free of normal expectation and view of life. She made me see through new eyes. How many writers can you say that about?
So my buddy and I, who both wrote independent study papers on "The Making of Americans" in graduate school in the dark ages, though we were at different universities and didn't know each other until fifteen years later, discovered this synchronicity a few years ago, and have been enjoying discussing Stein ever since. We paltry few, we sisteren, we Steinians, we bellyians. Onward!
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