Bears repeating

[jellyfish93]

"...the little son wanted to make a collection of butterflies and beetles and it was all exciting to him and it was all arranged then and then the father said to the son you are certain this is not a cruel thing that you are wanting to be doing, killing things to make collections of them, and the son was very disturbed then and they talked about it

Comments

[adizzi]

i added you back, thanks for introducing yourself.

stein is a favorite of mine. she gets something about using words that opens doors into how to use words, and while i get tired of actually reading the making of americans, i never tire of appreciating what she was doing and how she went about doing it.

it's just so much. i read a novel of thank you and the autobiography and other things without imploding. though my favorites are in useful knowledge, a book of shorter pieces.

i think i would be okay with the making of americans if i had a die-hard stein person in my life, and we'd read to each other out of it regularly, until it had all been read. it needs to be read aloud, and by people who can take it.

[jellyfish93]

i completely agree. i haven't even attempted the making of americans; i wrote an honors thesis at berkeley about stein and autobiography, so i read both (everybody's autobiography is a favorite) and parts of lots of her other work (another favorite: the geographical history of america). it does indeed have to be read aloud, ideally in shifts, and with another person who delights in the pure and playful language.