Monthly Archives: November 2011
Reading Stein
What is it like to read Gertrude Stein, it’s different that’s for sure. I’ve never read anything even remotely close to how Gertrude Stein’s style of writing. Is it intimidating I’m not sure, I know it’s confusing but that’s about it. The wordings are a bit off… I know I hear her voice in my head when I’m reading it, especially after I’ve heard her read “If I’ve told him” three times in a row. Not for the beginning of the poem I’ve read maybe, but once the wording started to get a bit iffy I started hearing her voice in my head. It was a bit disconcerting. Well either way it was fun to read about her.
Music
When I started to read the poem I started to laugh because it clicked to me why Professor Kaufman would tell the class to just read it, and to not analyze it. Reading this poem was like a joke. It was laughing in my head all along just because nothing actually made sense. I enjoyed the poem more during the beginning and as I kept reading my focus was gone. I was just going along with it, and it felt like I was reading Plato again.The same feeling of reading and not knowing what I was reading came back. I was reading it but not understanding it; it didn’t make sense to me, but I kept going. Unlike Plato though, I didn’t even try to make sense of Stein because I was under the impression that it wasn’t suppose to make sense. So even though I read this in my head, my voice in my mind was very relaxed and patient. This patience didn’t last too long. By the time I was done with a whole page of the nonsense I got impatient. I wasn’t at a point where I was getting frustrated or angry, but I definitely noticed myself reading faster and missing certain words. To be honest when I was reading this, I didn’t actually know that Stein’s a woman. I tend to think that men are funnier people than women. So when I just assumed that the writer was a man I read it in a lighter mood and wasn’t intimidated. If I knew Stein’s a woman to begin with this might’ve changed. I probably would’ve read it with a more serious mood since I tend to think that women have more reasons behind everything they say, write, and do.
not meant to be deciphered
I read the first poem several times, and I could not figure out what she meant by it. It was frustrating nonetheless, and I was a little worried at how it would be discussed in class. What i found interesting reading other people’s blog posts, was that even though a majority of the class said they disliked it, most people followed Gertrude’s style and created pieces very similar to hers. Clearly, it is a very fun task.
I do not however, feel that the poem was made to be a puzzle that the public should figure out. Rather, it is a simple thought and collection of what Gertrude was thinking at the time, and because it is so unique it is regarded to be a great work. With that taken into consideration, we need to stop, or I do rather, thinking about what the words mean. I dont feel we will come to a conclusion.
The poem leaves you hanging, because you do not know what you just read. After reading it many times, you are just left with hints about what she might mean, but not really what she actually means. We discussed that she wanted to be famous and well known, maybe that is why the poem is written this way? I would hope not, it would be very disappointing. So I can continue to appreciate the work, I will imagine that it represents her thoughts and her aspects about people in her life, and I think that is what poetry is all about.
If I Told Him
If I told him. If I told him. If I told him, dictator and despot, if I told him. Him if I told. What would happen if I told him. Would he run? Would he run if I told him? Would he stay if he stayed if I told him if he stayed would I tell him would he wouldn’t he or would he ever? Cacophony is cacophonous. Is Gertrude Stein is she cacophonous is she if she were to be cacophonous would I listen if she were? Would he? Would he listen to me if I were cacophonous if his brains were tangled from the sounds of repetition would he listen? Would he plug his ears or would he listen? Would anyone listen if we told them would they?
Would people listen to Gertrude if she followed the rules? Would they listen if she did? Is breaking the rules making the rules? Simple and elegant. Simple is elegant and clean is clear as clear is clean and we are all together to see how they run see how the run she how they fly.
I could not hear Gertrude’s voice in my head until now. Until I heard those videos I hadn’t heard it. But something about the way she breaks all the rules the English language puts out makes me love her writing. She basically put a big “F**K YOU!” in the face of anyone who is a grammar nitpicker, English lover, and technicality-obsessed intellectual. Gertrude Stein’s writing is, in a way, playful and fun– a reminder that rules should be broken. Obviously, who wouldn’t love that idea?
The Stein, Gertrude Experience
Reading Gertrude Stein was definitely not an easy task. I really had to sit and break apart every line from her poems and her essay. I re worded what I thought she was trying say for each of the pieces, and I looked up whatever caught my attention. I found myself getting really frustrated with all her pieces. I had to keep re reading her work because I would completely misunderstand what I first read. I decided to read everything aloud so I would minimize the times that I had to re-read it, and this worked!
When I read the first poem and saw the repetition about Napoleon at the beginning, I thought that I would have fun reading everything. I was wrong. After a while the repetition became a drag. I started to sound like a fool. “If I told him would he like it. Would he like it if I told him. Would he like it would Napoleon would Napoleon would would he like it.” Seriously, I can’t get her words out of my head. I had nightmares about it. But I have to give Stein her credit. Because her words are so repetitive, I can remember a good amount of things in her pieces. This technique she used was wise because readers are able to understand the message that Stein wants to convey. She probably does not care whether we are annoyed with her writings or not, she just wants us to remember what she is saying. I don’t know, I feel “bitter sweet” about Stein. I understand that she wants us to understand what she understands, but her trying so hard to get us to understand just makes it more difficult for us, well at least me, to fully understand. Understand?
Listening!!
If I hear her, does she hear herself. If she hears do I hear, does he hear, does he not. What if he says does she hear do I hear. What if I say do I hear what she hears and does he hear what she hears. What is time to her does she hear the tick and the tick hears her who hears me. What is going on?
What’s going on? Was my number one question besides, what is she saying? As well as “She sounds like my grandmother.” It was so interesting listening and reading what she was saying. Although I did not understand a single word she said It was really interesting, hearing her and just rambling on these random words. My favorite reading from Gertrude stein was Stanzas in Meditation: Stanza LXXXIII, when I first started reading I realized I did not understand a single word she had said. One of the things I found the most interesting was the way I would read the poem in my head. When I was reading this poem I felt like I was literally rapping in my head. I heard a beat, while reading this poetry. Eminem’s beat in “Im not Afraid” kept popping out and ringing inside my head. I also found that the most interesting thing was actually the fact that her words did not rhyme but for some reason you would hear many of them rhyme.
Inclose
Chose.
Open
Open
Close.
Therefor.
Chose.
Close.
This.
Mine.
Come.
Coming.
Come.
Done.
Although some of them did rhyme there were others that would kind of rhyme because the words within the line would make them rhyme. One thing that stuck out for me was “therefor.” I loved the way it was spelled because it just further emphasized the “ghettoness” of her poem. I f she was with us today especially in the Bronx, I could see her rhymes fitting in very well. When I first started reading some of her selections, I honestly could not imagine or hear her inside my voice. The name Gertrude Stein to me sounds like the name of a daffodil that loves literature. LOL. When I discovered more about who she was, I saw a male, and for some reason the picture in my head became more clear, and unfortunately it’s due to stereotypes, and not expecting women to really rap. It’s sad that although I feel sympathy towards that issue, I can’t completely get over some things society has built for our gender role. I thought it was really funny how everybody in class was getting annoyed by Stein’s writing; it was just too funny seeing the frustration in everybody else’s faces. I didn’t find her annoying at all. I honestly felt really deep into it because I really wanted to know what she was saying and I still do. What is it that inspires her to write these shenanigans, but what many have considered genius.
Those are Broken!
Although “Objects” of Gertrude shows a little better in language, I prefer to go with the most destructive poem” If I told Him: A Completed Portrait of Picasso”. I listen few more times of sound recording on YouTube. All I can say is that echoing is everywhere and echoing, echoing, echoing, there is echoing on my ears, on my ears. Even though she continues she continues, I barely can remember barely can remember anything but “shutter shuts” but “shutter shuts” because “ shut” resonates” Shut Up”, shut it up.
This piece of reading is really repetitive, illogical, sparse, bizarre, repetitive, and really repetitive. I like poem, I really do do like poem, I understand I do understand that poem sometimes needs some unique imagination some unique imagination and goes beyond what our eyes can see and what our mind can “see”, it is not like this and it should not like this.
After brief introduction about her work in the class, I understand that she intents to do this. The question in my mind is why repetitive? How repetitive matters? What repetitive can bring to us? When I wrote some words repetitive as above, I feel fine and it is just fine. Even I kinda like that.
Cubism is the avenue for us to open the mystery. In cubism’s portrays, I know that objects are broken up, re-construct, analyzed in an abstracted form instead of showing them in a direct way. To use the limited space to explore the unlimited world, and also, the surface looks from seemly random angles, but actually not, and shows the perception depth so that the background and the targeted objects can interpenetrate one another to create a distinctive vague and ambiguous space.
Also, I get a sense of cubism, I still at a loss of Gertrude’s writing. But I feel better; especially I re-watch the body movement video. It is an expression of strength that grows stronger and stronger as I observe from the body movement. Their stretches are “square” or automatic which lack of humanized factors.
My thought pauses, but there is still echoing which comes from Gertrude. Still echoing, echoing. A broken language full of grammar mistakes, like a child, it is really like a child who speaks without boundary with limited vocabulary, but always tells what they really mean and who they really are.
She is she is she is as is she is driving me crazy, crazy to admire what she did to me, and what she did to me.
Confusion, Dilution, Transfusion
And so the reading of a reading commenced as the commencement of a reading commenced. And such commencement commenced as the reading was read.
One. Confused. Abused by the lines and fused with such rhymes unused.
Two. Repetitive. Again and again and again again. Slightly different and then again again again. And once more
Three. Trance. —
From line to line I lined the reading. A reading read by lines line after line. The lines commenced in commencement and my interpretation began.
An interpretation interpreted as possibly interpreted where interpretation can be made of a soul interpreted. But how can one interpret the interpretation of an interpreter?
Such as the drawing of a drawer the drawings of the drawing were drawn. And the lines were drowned in the drawing. The drowning drawings lined with lines were outlined with lines so drawn that they were drowned.
If I Stop Listening
I found myself laughing when i heard it the first time in class, however i liked the way how it fits to the dance, noticed that as the word repeats and the movement repeats at the same time. But still her voice was really annoy. To be honest, i didnt understand anything when i heard it in class. This morning i tried to listen it again from YouTube, and i replayed it couple times, until my cousin came to me and said:” what was that noise, would you please stop playing that.” I told her this’s my homework, it’s a poem. She replied “I don’t care, just stop it, so annoy .” i didnt stop, after few time of replaying it, i started to get some ideas about it, she was trying to response to Picasso’s portrait of her. More interesting is that I found this way of writting is easier to understand, especially for someone like me who doesnt really like poetry.