Author Archives: renatestendhal

Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 31

For the beginning of a busy week: “It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.” “The world is covered all over with people but geniuses are … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 30

What’s she cooking up? “Grammar means that it has to be prepared and cooked…” (How to Write) There are always surprises. Until a few days ago, I had never seen this photo of Gert and Alice in their country kitchen, … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 29

The deep question, What have we learned from writing in the past year? is still drawing circles and surprising answers among the She Writers. Here is one from Gertrude: what she learned about writing from her dog, Basket: “Basket although … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 28

I promised to give you another few stunning examples of Gertrude’s sense of a paragraph: “I began to get enormously interested in hearing how everybody said the same thing over and over again with infinite variations but over and over … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 27

The young woman with the dreamy eyes took her first creative writing class at Radcliffe (then called Harvard Annex) with the poet William Vaughn Moody, in 1894. She wrote a number of compositions that already show some eccentricity, if not … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 26

After saying “Melly Christmas” with Alice (Blog # 17), it’s time to say Zappy New Year! A little time-out was needed. Or, if you like, a comma. “A long complicated sentence should force itself upon you, make you know yourself … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # ?

For the beginning of a busy week, a busy year: “It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.” “The world is covered all over with people … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 25

Gertrude’s favorite little armchairs, tapestried by Jack-of-all-trades Alice with designs Picasso had made for them. When you look at the cover of the American edition of my book (blog # 23) you will notice that Picasso’s armchair design was used … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 24

Publishing in Europe and publishing in the USA are two different beasts. I first brought out my photobiography in Germany. When I heard that two women had taken over the renowned literary publishing company Arche Verlag I instantly contacted them … Continue reading

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Why Do Something If It Can Be Done: Quoting Gertrude Stein # 23

Here she comes again! Gertie is back in print. Amazon (at least) is freshly restocked with copies (at the original price, $ 15.95!) and you can have a look inside the book. Well, you got a good look already from … Continue reading

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