Gertrude Stein

I am really intrigued by Gertrude Stein’s methodology and creation of poetic prose. The flow and rhythm of the sound in the verse is what draws me into the scenes she depicts in the set of poems from Tender Buttons.

In Tender Buttons she creates a view of everyday objects like a carafe or a chicken that turns these objects into glorified, meaningful and realistic pieces of art and life. As a feminist, I find her subjects especially intriguing. Stein takes the aspects of life that patriarchal society deems menial, and paints them as interesting nuances that interest both sexes. I thought it was really interesting on Wednesday when Rachel brought up the idea that Stein’s poetry reads a lot like a cook book. This idea is interesting, especially considering the fact that her writing is celebrating the household objects of the “woman’s world.” I wonder if this focus on femininity and the role of the woman was part of her thinking and aim in creating this collection of poetry.

Her work is pure art that imitates that of an abstract painting. At first glimpse her structure and rhythm seem rather barbaric, but upon closer observation, the structure and rhythm are magnified in the sound of each word she uses in her writing. Her writing may be similar to that of lose prose, but it is easy to see that she carefully chose each and every word to describe and bring to life the subjects of her poems. A perfect example of this is in the poem Chicken. In this poem uses the words stick and sticking to create the sounds of a chicken while not actually using those words to say this is the noise a chicken makes. Her words, in this sense can be taken for much more than face value.

In considering the conversation about the signifier and the signified, I was reminded of the painting by Magritte “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” Stein’s poetry turns a simple representation of an object into the real life form.