tmhpublishing-blog

[tmhpublishing-blog]

What do you think all writers have in common?

an overwhelming and insatiable longing for something more than this

[tmhpublishing-blog]

A Tribute to Gertrude Stein

    Novelist. Poet. Editor. Art aficionado. There are many titles that can be attributed to Ms. Gertrude Stein. Today we celebrate 143 years of her life and work. 

     Born February 3, 1874 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, (later incorporated into Pittsburgh proper) Stein was a true individual. Her parents were what might be considered “progressive,” especially given the year. She spent a year of her young life abroad with her family in Paris. Her parents did everything in their power to ensure their children were raised with culture and kindness, providing them with private tutors and the best Europe had to offer. When the Stein family returned to the United States, they set up shop in Oakland, California.

      Not a fan of her schooling, Stein was nevertheless a voracious reader and a great lover of art. She had the heart of an intellectual and the soul of a creator. After dropping out of medical school, she moved to London with her brother Leo. They then moved back to Paris where Gertrude thrived. She was once caught saying, “America is my birthplace but Paris is my hometown.”

      In the apartment she and Leo shared, Gertrude truly cultivated her art collection and began hosting a salon.  27 rue de Fleurus became a gathering place for artists and art lovers of all disciplines to share, talk, and grow. She is responsible for the proliferation of greats like Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. She is even credited with introducing F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, sparking a very influential life-long friendship. 

    In 1933, Stein finally published her own work and pushed herself into mainstream success. The book was mostly a memoir, told from the perspective of her long time girlfriend Alice Toklas. Titled “An Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas,” it was unlike anything previously published. It was an in-depth exploration of a lesbian relationship, a previously taboo subject. It was in this book that she gave us some of her most well-known quotes. This is where “a rose is a rose is a rose” came from as well as “there is no there there.”

    Gertrude Stein was an important figure in the literary and art communities. Without her, we may not have been introduced to so much that has shaped the way art is produced and consumed. So here’s to you, Gertrude! Thank you for all you have done and happy birthday!