Three Lives and Tender Buttons

Fiction & Literature, Psychological, Classics, Literary
Cover of the book Three Lives and Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein, Penguin Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gertrude Stein ISBN: 9781101498316
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: February 4, 2003
Imprint: Signet Language: English
Author: Gertrude Stein
ISBN: 9781101498316
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: February 4, 2003
Imprint: Signet
Language: English

Three Lives

Three short stories comprise Gertrude Stein’s first significant work, each a psychological portrait of a different woman. “The Good Anna” is a kindly but domineering German servant. “The Gentle Lena” apathetically endures her miserable life until she dies in childbirth. “Melanctha” is a young Black woman learning about sexuality and love. Different as they may be, all three women are bound by poverty—and all three face the restrictions of class, race, and sex with resignation.

Tender Buttons

Stein spoke of maintaining a “continuous present,” comprised of “moments of consciousness,” independent of time and memory. Nowhere is this more clear than in her prose poems Tender Buttons. Their repetitive sentences, juxtaposition of sounds, and simple language connote this continuous presence. To live in this state is “to begin again and again,” to “use everything.” Each of the three sections, “Objects,” “Food,” and “Rooms,” employs both this repetition and disjointed words to build images. Prose poetry at its most abstract expression, Tender Buttons “is to writing…what cubism is to art.” (W.G. Rogers)

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Three Lives

Three short stories comprise Gertrude Stein’s first significant work, each a psychological portrait of a different woman. “The Good Anna” is a kindly but domineering German servant. “The Gentle Lena” apathetically endures her miserable life until she dies in childbirth. “Melanctha” is a young Black woman learning about sexuality and love. Different as they may be, all three women are bound by poverty—and all three face the restrictions of class, race, and sex with resignation.

Tender Buttons

Stein spoke of maintaining a “continuous present,” comprised of “moments of consciousness,” independent of time and memory. Nowhere is this more clear than in her prose poems Tender Buttons. Their repetitive sentences, juxtaposition of sounds, and simple language connote this continuous presence. To live in this state is “to begin again and again,” to “use everything.” Each of the three sections, “Objects,” “Food,” and “Rooms,” employs both this repetition and disjointed words to build images. Prose poetry at its most abstract expression, Tender Buttons “is to writing…what cubism is to art.” (W.G. Rogers)

More books from Penguin Publishing Group

Cover of the book Off the Grid by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Pouncing on Murder by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Mine by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Magic Bleeds by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Engage by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Faux Paw by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book The Spiritual Emerson by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Unquiet Dreams by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Rising Tides by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Bitches on a Budget by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Murder, She Wrote: Aloha Betrayed by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Barbarian Days by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Don't Let Go by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book The Matchmaker's List by Gertrude Stein
Cover of the book Runaway Girl by Gertrude Stein
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy