stein and all

It has been hard to motivate myself to write on Stein. Not that I dislike her, but it is not always easy to snap out cool analyses and stamp them with distancing wit. And why would I be so eager for such an accomplishment anyway. To write like that seems hardly original or uniquely individual to me. But sometimes to write just for practice or doodle and not for newly born crystalline objectivities (and what reason would there be for one to need to feel obligated to write in that sense anyway) makes it easier to get going.

Sometimes Stein sounds better as music. In fact, I did listen to some of two operas with music by Virgil Thompson and texts by Gertrude Stein called Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All (given Stein I'm not sure of the caps on these titles). Although they felt a little dated which is to be expected the language was fresh and interesting but not always with a clear sense of my knowing why she picked those words or that phrasing other than an interesting feel and tone. So I don't know why she places particular words together but the sounding of the words and the paragraphs is something very fun at times but also very tiring at times.

Also I read part of and very much liked The World is Round. I read that with a lighter grip than Geographical History as I do not need to know it for class. And so with no sense of obligation to understand but to enjoy the play in the lay of words I sailed away through it not minding about the human mind.