Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein

by Gertrude Stein

PAGE XXV

  It is wonderful the way I am not interested.

  What can you do.

  I can answer any question.

  Very well answer this.

  Who is Mr. McBride.

  PAGE XXVI

  It is found out.

  Not by me.

  PAGE XXVII

  Leave me to see.

  PAGE XXVIII

  I told you that you were told.

  PAGE XXIX

  It is outrageous to mention a hotel.

  PAGE XXX

  Can you please me with kisses.

  In France we are found.

  We are found in France.

  PAGE XXXI

  I cannot destroy blandishments.

  That is not the word you meant to use. I meant to say that being indeed convinced of the necessity of seeing them swim I believe in their following. Do you believe in their following.

  PAGE XXXII

  Can you think in meaning to sell well. We can all think separately. Can you think in meaning to be checquered. I can answer for the news. Of course you can answer for the news.

  PAGE XXXIII

  In the midst of that rain.

  In the midst of that rain there was a wing. And he was not sorry. Who can be sorry there. We are.

  Yes lamb.

  Roger.

  PAGE XXXIV

  Not necessarily a deception.

  PAGE XXXV

  Can you speak to me.

  I can speak to you.

  I believe in the book about England.

  PAGE XXXVI

  In leaning grass in leaning grass.

  Yes in leaning grass.

  Can you widen rivers there.

  PAGE XXXVII

  Can you see Cook.

  Can you hear it turn.

  I used to say where.

  Now it is in machinery in that machinery. They do not deplore what the war.

  PAGE XXVIII

  Can you candidly say that of him.

  PAGE XXXIX

  Why am I so sleepy.

  PAGE XL

  Can you excuse any one.

  PAGE XLI

  Fifty boxes of matches wax matches which burn very well and strike very well and have no smell. Do you mean less smell than others.

  PAGE XLII

  You say he is that sort of a person. He has been here again. And asked about pitchers.

  PAGE XLIII

  Can he ask about pitchers.

  PAGE XLIV

  Officers do not kiss soldiers.

  What do officers kiss.

  Officers kiss the cross. Indeed they do. So do soldiers in passing.

  Pass again.

  Chrysanthemum.

  Was his friend a friend.

  PAGE XLV

  Can you see him.

  PAGE XLVI

  Particularly today.

  Feel me.

  A sentimental face.

  Can they say no excuse. Can they say selfish brothers. Do they say we are pleased to have been taught. No they do not do so they have that very negligible quality, the station of Lyons. We were there. And books. Yes books. You did not understand a laundry woman. Yes women porters. Of course women porters. Why should we be proud. Because it is foolish. It is very foolish to be wrong. In that case may I beg to refer to it. You may.

  The French are polite.

  AS A WIFE HAS

  A COW

  A Love Story

  Published in Paris in 1926 with lithographic illustrations by Juan Gris, this is an excellent example of Gertrude Stein’s adverbial and participial style. The reader will find a clue to the passage about the “fifteenth of October” in the opening pages of Chapter VII of THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS in this Collection.

  Nearly all of it to be as a wife has a cow, a love story. All of it to be as a wife has a cow, all of it to be as a wife has a cow, a love story.

  As to be all of it as to be a wife as a wife has a cow, a love story, all of it as to be all of it as a wife all of it as to be as a wife has a cow a love story, all of it as a wife has a cow as a wife has a cow a love story.

  Has made, as it has made as it has made, has made has to be as a wife has a cow, a love story. Has made as to be as a wife has a cow a love story. As a wife has a cow, as a wife has a cow, a love story. Has to be as a wife has a cow a love story. Has made as to be as a wife has a cow a love story.

  When he can, and for that when he can, for that. When he can and for that when he can. For that. When he can. For that when he can. For that. And when he can and for that. Or that, and when he can. For that and when he can.

  And to in six and another. And to and in and six and another. And to and in and six and another. And to in six and and to and in and six and another. And to and in and six and another. And to and six and in and another and and to and six and another and and to and in and six and and to and six and in and another.

  In came in there, came in there come out of there. In came in come out of there. Come out there in came in there. Come out of there and in and come out of there. Came in there, come out of there.

  Feeling or for it, as feeling or for it, came in or come in, or come out of there or feeling as feeling or feeling as for it.

  As a wife has a cow.

  Came in and come out.

  As a wife has a cow a love story.

  As a love story, as a wife has a cow, a love story.

  Not and now, now and not, not and now, by and by not and now, as not, as soon as not not and now, now as soon now now as soon, now as soon as soon as now. Just as soon just now just now just as soon just as soon as now. Just as soon as now.

  And in that, as and in that, in that and and in that, so that, so that and in that, and in that and so that and as for that and as for that and that. In that. In that and and for that as for that and in that. Just as soon and in that. In that as that and just as soon. Just as soon as that.

  Even now, now and even now and now and even now. Not as even now, therefor, even now and therefor, therefor and even now and even now and therefor even now. So not to and moreover and even now and therefor and moreover and even now and so and even now and therefor even now.

  Do they as they do so. And do they do so.

  We feel we feel. We feel or if we feel if we feel or if we feel. We feel or if we feel. As it is made made a day made a day or two made a day, as it is made a day or two, as it is made a day. Made a day. Made a day. Not away a day. By day. As it is made a day.

  On the fifteenth of October as they say, said anyway, what is it as they expect, as they expect it or as they expected it, as they expect it and as they expected it, expect it or for it, expected it and it is expected of it. As they say said anyway. What is it as they expect for it, what is it and it is as they expect of it. What is it. What is it the fifteenth of October as they say as they expect or as they expected as they expect for it. What is it as they say the fifteenth of October as they say and as expected of it, the fifteenth of October as they say, what is it as expected of it. What is it and the fifteenth of October as they say and expected of it.

  And prepare and prepare so prepare to prepare and prepare to prepare and prepare so as to prepare, so to prepare and prepare to prepare to prepare for and to prepare for it to prepare, to prepare for it, in preparation, as preparation in preparation by preparation. They will be too busy afterwards to prepare. As preparation prepare, to prepare, as to preparation and to prepare. Out there.

  Have it as having having it as happening, happening to have it as having, having to have it as happening. Happening and have it as happening and having it happen as happening and having to have it happen as happening, and my wife has a cow as now, my wife having a cow as now, my wife having a cow as now and having a cow as now and having a cow and having a cow now, my wife has a cow and now. My wife has a cow.

  TWO POEMS

  Susie Asado

  Preciosilla

  SUSIE ASADO is the first item in GEOGRAPHY AND PLAYS, 1922. PRECIOSILLA was
published in COMPOSITION AS EXPLANATION, 1926. Gertrude Stein writes, in LECTURES IN AMERICA: “The strict discipline that I had given myself, the absolute refusal of never using a word that was not an exact word all through the TENDER BUTTONS and what I may call the early Spanish and GEOGRAPHY AND PLAY (sic) period finally resulted in things like SUSIE ASADO and PRECIOSILLA etc. in an extraordinary melody of words and a melody of excitement in knowing that I had done this thing.” There is reason to believe that these two poems paint a portrait and make an attempt to recapture the rhythm of the same flamenco dancer.

  Susie Asado

  Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea.

  Susie Asado.

  Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea.

  Susie Asado.

  Susie Asado which is a told tray sure.

  A lean on the shoe this means slips slips hers.

  When the ancient light grey is clean it is yellow, it is a silver seller.

  This is a please this is a please there are the saids to jelly. These are the wets these say the sets to leave a crown to Incy.

  Incy is short for incubus.

  A pot. A pot is a beginning of a rare bit of trees. Trees tremble, the old vats are in bobbles, bobbles which shade and shove and render clean, render clean must.

  Drink pups.

  Drink pups drink pups lease a sash hold, see it shine and a bobolink has pins. It shows a nail.

  What is a nail. A nail is unison.

  Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea.

  Preciosilla

  Cousin to Clare washing.

  In the win all the band beagles which have cousin lime sign and arrange a weeding match to presume a certain point to exstate to exstate a certain pass lint to exstate a lean sap prime lo and shut shut is life.

  Bait, bait, tore, tore her clothes, toward it, toward a bit, to ward a sit, sit down in, in vacant surely lots, a single mingle, bait and wet, wet a single establishment that has a lily lily grow. Come to the pen come in the stem, come in the grass grown water.

  Lily wet lily wet while. This is so pink so pink in stammer, a long bean which shows bows is collected by a single curly shady, shady get, get set wet bet.

  It is a snuff a snuff to be told and have can wither, can is it and sleep sleep knot, it is a lily scarf the pink and blue yellow, not blue not odour sun, nobles are bleeding bleeding two seats two seats on end. Why is grief. Grief is strange black. Sugar is melting. We will not swim.

  Preciosilla

  Please be please be get, please get wet, wet naturally, naturally in weather. Could it be fire more firier. Could it be so in ate struck. Could it be gold up, gold up stringing, in it while while which is hanging, hanging in dingling, dingling in pinning, not so. Not so dots large dressed dots, big sizes, less laced, less laced diamonds, diamonds white, diamonds bright, diamonds in the in the light, diamonds light diamonds door diamonds hanging to be four, two four, all before, this bean, lessly, all most, a best, willow, vest, a green guest, guest, go go go go go go, go. Go go. Not guessed. Go go.

  Toasted susie is my ice-cream.

  TWO PLAYS

  Ladies Voices

  What Happened

  LADIES’ VOICES and WHAT HAPPENED were both printed originally in GEOGRAPHY AND PLAYS. Miss Stein finds a definite connection between geography, landscape, and playwriting and refers to this connection again and again in her work. For instance, in THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS she says: “A landscape is such a natural arrangement for a battlefield or a play that one must write plays.” In LECTURES IN AMERICA, Miss Stein explains “And so all of a sudden I began to write plays. I remember very well the first one I wrote. I called it, WHAT HAPPENED, A PLAY, it is in GEOGRAPHY and PLAYS as are all the plays I wrote at that time. I think and always have thought that if you write a play you ought to announce that it is a play and that is what I did. What Happened. A Play. I had just come home from a pleasant dinner party (elsewhere she tells us this dinner was given by Harry and Bridget Gibb) and I realized then as anybody can know that something is always happening. Something is always happening, anybody knows a quantity of stories of people’s lives that are always happening, there are always plenty for the newspapers and there are always plenty in private life. Everybody knows so many stories and what is the use of telling another story. What is the use of telling a story since there are so many and everybody knows so many and tells so many. In the country it is perfectly extraordinary how many complicated dramas go on all the time. And everybody knows them, so why tell another one. There is always a story going on. So naturally what I wanted to do in my play was what everybody did not always know or always tell. By everybody I do of course include myself but always I do of course include myself. And so I wrote, WHAT HAPPENED, A PLAY. Then I wrote LADIES’ VOICES. The idea in WHAT HAPPENED, A PLAY was without telling what happened, to make a play the essence of what happened.”

  Ladies’ Voices

  CURTAIN RAISER

  Ladies’ voices give pleasure.

  The acting two is easily lead. Leading is not in winter. Here the winter is sunny.

  Does that surprise you.

  Ladies voices together and then she came in.

  Very well good night.

  Very well good night.

  (Mrs. Cardillac.)

  That’s silver.

  You mean the sound.

  Yes the sound.

  ACT II

  Honest to God Miss Williams I don’t mean to say that I was older.

  But you were.

  Yes I was. I do not excuse myself. I fed that there is no reason for passing an archduke.

  You like the word.

  You know very well that they all call it their house.

  As Christ was to Lazarus so was the founder of the hill to Mahon.

  You really mean it.

  I do.

  ACT III

  Yes Genevieve does not know it. What. That we are seeing Caesar.

  Caesar kisses.

  Kisses today.

  Caesar kisses every day.

  Genevieve does not know that it is only in this country that she could speak as she does.

  She does speak very well doesn’t she. She told them that there was not the slightest intention on the part of her countrymen to eat the fish that was not caught in their country.

  In this she was mistaken.

  ACT IV

  What are ladies voices.

  Do you mean to believe me.

  Have you caught the sun.

  Dear me have you caught the sun.

  SCENE II

  Did you say they were different. I said it made no difference.

  Where does it. Yes.

  Mr. Richard Sutherland. This is a name I know.

  Yes.

  The Hotel Victoria.

  Many words spoken to me have seemed English.

  Yes we do hear one another and yet what are called voices the best decision in telling of balls.

  Masked balls.

  Yes masked balls.

  Poor Augustine.

  What Happened

  A FIVE ACT PLAY

  ACT I

  (One.)

  Loud and no cataract. Not any nuisance is depressing.

  (Five.)

  A single sum four and five together and one, not any sun a clear signal and an exchange.

  Silence is in blessing and chasing and coincidences being ripe. A simple melancholy clearly precious and on the surface and surrounded and mixed strangely. A vegetable window and clearly most clearly an exchange in parts and complete.

  A tiger a rapt and surrounded overcoat securely arranged with spots old enough to be thought useful and witty quite witty in a secret and in a blinding flurry.

  Length what is length when silence is so windowful. What is the use of a sore if there is no joint and no toady and no tag and not even an eraser. What is the commonest exchange between more laughing and most. Carelessness is carelessness and a cake well a cake is a powder, it is very likely to be powder, it is
very likely to be much worse.

  A shutter and only shutter and Christmas, quite Christmas, an only shutter and a target a whole color in every centre and shooting real shooting and what can hear, that can hear that which makes such an establishment provided with what is provisionary.

  (Two.)

  Urgent action is not in graciousness it is not in clocks it is not in water wheels. It is the same so essentially, it is a worry a real worry.

  A silence a whole waste of a desert spoon, a whole waste of any little shaving, a whole waste altogether open.

  (Two.)

  Paralysis why is paralysis a syllable why is it not more lively.

  A special sense a very special sense is ludicrous.

  (Three.)

  Suggesting a sage brush with a turkey and also something abominable is not the only pain there is in so much provoking. There is even more. To begin a lecture is a strange way of taking dirty apple blossoms and is there more use in water, certainly there is if there is going to be fishing, enough water would make desert and even prunes, it would make nothing throw any shade because after all is there not more practical humor in a series of photographs and also in a treacherous sculpture.

  Any hurry any little hurry has so much subsistence, it has and choosing, it has.

  ACT II

  (Three.)

  Four and nobody wounded, five and nobody flourishing, six and nobody talkative, eight and nobody sensible.

  One and a left hand lift that is so heavy that there is no way of pronouncing perfectly.

  A point of accuracy, a point of a strange stove, a point that is so sober that the reason left is all the chance of swelling.

  (The same three.)

  A wide oak a wide enough oak, a very wide cake, a lightning cooky, a single wide open and exchanged box filled with the same little sac that shines.

  The best the only better and more left footed stranger.

  The very kindness there is in all lemons oranges apples pears and potatoes.

  (The same three.)

  A same frame a sadder portal, a singular gate and a bracketed mischance.

  A rich market where there is no memory of more moon than there is everywhere and yet where strangely there is apparel and a whole set.