Few poets confound, amaze and startle readers like Gertrude Stein, one of the luminaries of Modernist poetry. Her entirely unconventional take on verse, published in 1914, is ostensibly a collection of descriptions about everyday objects; yet her nontraditional placement of words next to one another - such as the book's title - challenge the reader's concept of meaning and definition. A devout feminist and American expat living in France during the roaring 20s, Stein defied the expectations of a woman in her day, and her undeniably powerful verse ignited later generations of writers, showing them the limitless possibilities of the written word.
Few poets confound, amaze and startle readers like Gertrude Stein, one of the luminaries of Modernist poetry. Her entirely unconventional take on verse, published in 1914, is ostensibly a collection of descriptions about everyday objects; yet her nontraditional placement of words next to one another - such as the book's title - challenge the reader's concept of meaning and definition. A devout feminist and American expat living in France during the roaring 20s, Stein defied the expectations of a woman in her day, and her undeniably powerful verse ignited later generations of writers, showing them the limitless possibilities of the written word.
