Lectures in America

by Gertrude Stein

Lectures delivered during Stein's 1934 tour center on her personal ideas concerning the fine arts

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Classics, Criticism, Writing, Poetry

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Gertrude Stein was an American writer who spent most of her life in France, and who became a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. Her life was marked by two primary relationships, the first with her brother Leo Stein, from 1874-1914, and the second with Alice B. Toklas, from 1907 until Stein's death in 1946. Stein shared her salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris, first with Leo and then with Alice. Throughout her lifetime, Stein cultivated significant tertiary relationships with well-known members of the avant garde artistic and literary world of her time.

Reviews

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoo boy ok so the circular vague-ity and the no comma punctuation make this a breathless claustrophobic read. We will see if I get through it. It feels important to get through it.

I am reading this because I felt weird wearing my Black Lives Matter shirt, a Nikkita Oliver for Mayor pin, power fist on my backpack, AND reading either the MLK biography, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Blues for Mister Charlie, or Born a Crime, which are the books next, and the ones a actually want to read... it just felt like it would be... too much.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting take on what the history of English literature is.

[Clara Martin]

I've always had trouble reading Gertrude Stein, although I like her writing very much, and reading this book didn't get rid of the trouble, but it did make the trouble more interesting. Especially recommend last two chapters (which can be found online) "Portraits and Repetition" and "Poetry and Grammar" for anyone who wants to get a better grasp on what exactly Gertrude Stein is doing and likes to be doing.

"Poetry is doing nothing but using losing refusing and pleasing and betraying and caressing nouns."

[Vanessa Dewolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gertrude Stein is my inspiration, she was well-known as a hostess and cultivated great conversation and also was a poet of profound experimentation.
This book, strangely, is one of my favorites by her. It's about the source of her experiments and it's also in the style of them.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

TheMaking of Americans is my favourite. How she learned from William James, his thinking which led to her portraits; how she wanted to capture every type of man and woman.

There are two ways of thinking about the history of English literature; literature as a history of it and literature as a history of you

Literature of England is shaped by being an island, whilst American literature is shaped by being on a continent

English literature capturing English daily life; the making of poetry of the things shut in on an island daily life

Words were in that daily island life which had not been there before; Elizabethan poetry

Then came the time When people would write to explain
18th century phrases; 19th century sentences; 20th century paragraphs
19th century the relationship between explanation and sentimental emotion

In the 19th century what they thought was not what they said, they said what they thought and they were thinking about what they thought

English literature completed; American literature carried on. And became the 20th century

The Louvre at first was only gold frames to me
81 completed portraits of Picasso - if I told him would he like it
would he like it would napoleon would napoleon would would he like it

“Sentences are not emotional but paragraphs are”

Plays in relation to emotion and time - emotions are always syncopated with the scene in front of you; you’re always experiencing emotions about the last scene or the last speech not the play omin the moment

Reading Lectures in America, the quotes from portraits and I have an immediate sensation of Claire’s poetry. Why did I give it back? Could I contact her parents and ask for it back? A sudden jolt of sadness. I hold this pain for a moment, close.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revenge can backfire as Dexter Hart discovers, but he won a prize that changes his life if only he opens his heart!
Maggie has been ignored and ridiculed by her father because she is a by-blow! However, she is the one who has the most precious soul that her father and half sister would never be able to destroy or understand. Having nothing all her life has made her appreciate and see others with her heart rather than what they can do for her.
Dexter & Maggie hopefully can overcome a prejudice of rich and poverty. Building a life together can be difficult with stigmas and then to have others trying to ruin their relationship will also be a issue as well. Commitment and changing one’s opinions will be a progression of trust and loyalty.

The author engages the reader from the very beginning to the last page! She keeps the book moving with inviting dialogue and just enough seductive intrigue that you are drawn into the characters!
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read!

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

For people interested In the modernist movement and the historical background of the early 1900s, I think this book is one the best resources you could find. Also recommended for AP US literature students.
I used this book as a reference for a research piece on feminism and queer theory, but what I really enjoyed is Gertrude Stein’s frank description of the culture she lived in. It’s often difficult to imagine the environment a writer lived in in contrast with the world we live in today, from what we can spend our money on to how we get out news to what things to watch/read. Stein gives a frank lecture on how we create art and consume media and the cycle in which they are born and gives a great overview of how the modernist movement was formed as the Western world became more connected and industrialization was beginning. She writes at length about
Briefly, if you are teaching Modernisn in Western literature or need the perspective, I recommend this historical book. I believe if I get the opportunity to teach this movement, this book has a trove of articles to use.
I read this in late 2019 and again in mid 2021.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of self-made banker Dexter Hart who is one of the wealthiest men in London. His ambition is to marry a title and plots to marry the daughter of the man who whipped him as a child. But Lord Alderley is able to outsmart him and coerces his illegitimate daughter to marry him instead.

Margaret Alder has lived in exile and disgrace her whole life. Never feeling loved by anyone in her life. Unfortunately, this marriage forces her into a world she does not understand and a husband who does not seem to really care. Though she soon discovers that a heart does lurk beneath his cold exterior. Soon they are moving towards love, but with plenty of twists and turns to keep the book interesting. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading Vivienne Lorret and Megan Frampton.

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

[My · Rating 1 out of 5]

This tittle was made available by NetGalley, for an honest review.

And let me be honest, I hated it and gave up on finishing it.

The plot base was amazing and in my favourite trope: arranged marriages. But the actual writing did not deliver in its promises.

SPOILLER AHEAD >>>>

The first sex scene was so ridiculous that made laugh.

But the fact that the main male protagonist ordered the wiping of a servant, was a red line to me.
But wait... he´s not so bad, after all... he made sure she had laudanum. Seriously?

[Cosima demaglie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I am blown away by this book. I love everything about this book it is my new favorite! historical fiction at its best with characters & a story line that every reader will love.

[Asli Secil · Rating 5 out of 5]

stilistik açıdan mükemmel.

[Pauline]

j'arrive jamais à savoir si gertrude est géniale ou très ennuyeuse