Literary Cubism by Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein was at heart an artist’s writer. She became well-known to the literary mainstream with “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,” and was at her most accessible with her speech and autobiographical writing of her later years.

It is with collections such as “Geography and Plays,” however, that Stein showcased the possibilities of the English language to transcend beyond literature into the realm of modern art. The page was her canvas, and as the Cubist painters of her time treated their subjects, Stein re-assembled words in an abstracted form to present them in a greater context, a context un-tethered by a singular viewpoint.

This modern edition contains a massive collection of over 50 different works by Gertrude Stein. In addition to the daring and cheeky “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene,” this revitalized edition contains many of her most radical and influential works. There is “Ada,” one of Stein’s many word portraits of famous personages, this one written of Alice B. Toklas. There is “Every Afternoon: A Dialogue,” a conversation between two unnamed people highlighting the writer’s playful, often humorous style.

Also included is “Sacred Emily,” in which the reader finds Stein’s most often quoted line, “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose,” a line that employs her trademark use of repetitive language to express that things are what they are, but at the same time, so much more. In Stein’s view, the simple naming of a thing already invokes the imagery and emotions associated with it–the writer does not need to manipulate the word any further.

Literary Cubsim - Geography & Plays - Selected Works of Gertrude Stein

Homer - The Iliad & The Odyssey

The history of Homer and his works is lost in doubtful obscurity, as is the history of many of the first minds who have done honor to humanity because they rose amidst darkness. The majestic stream of his song, blessing and fertilizing, flows like a river through many lands and nations.

The creations of genius always seem like miracles, because they are, for the most part, created far out of the reach of observation. If we were in possession of all the historical testimonies, we never could wholly explain the origin of the Iliad and the Odyssey. But it must be noted that Homer’s great epic poems hold a singular place in literature. Within the knowledge of all of history that has been passed down to us, there is no known predecessor that could lay claim to be the progenitor or equal to these great works.

It was Homer who formed the character of the Greek nation. No poet has ever, as a poet, exercised a similar influence over his countrymen. Prophets, lawgivers, and sages have formed the character of other nations; it was reserved to a poet to form that of the Greeks. When lawgivers and sages appeared in Greece, the work of the poet had already been accomplished; and they paid homage to his superior genius. He held up before his nation the mirror, in which they were to behold the world of gods and heroes no less than of feeble mortals, and to behold them reflected with purity and truth.

His poems are founded on the first feeling of human nature; on the love of children, wife, and country; on that passion which outweighs all others, the love of glory. His songs were poured forth from a breast which sympathized with all the feelings of man; and therefore they enter, and will continue to enter, every breast which cherishes the same sympathies.

This special Kindle edition contains a linked Table of Contents for each book of The Iliad and The Odyssey, complete with the first line of the text, for easy Kindle searching.