Geography and Plays is a collection of Gertrude Stein's writing from about 1908 to 1920. Originally published in 1922 with an introduction by Sherwood Anderson, it was almost inaccessible for many years. This edition makes it possible for students and other devotees of Stein to see the developing strategies of one of the acknowledged giants of literary modernism, whose pathbreaking departures in literary style have recently been assigned still greater importance in light of new theories about women's writing. An introduction by Cyrena N. Pondrom provides contemporary readers with a fine orientation to the importance of Stein's achievement in this early work.
Of the three great books published 1922/23--Ulysses, The Wasteland, and Geography and Plays--I rate Stein's work the highest. It is a bit daunting at first, though you will probably be amused at least by the wit on every page. But for experiments in poetry, plays, and prose, it by far outstrips Joyce and Eliot. The one essential modernist work. So advanced it is actually postmodernist in its approach to its audience, including, as it does, echoes of what is happening now around her so as to achieve a release from time and to become essentially timeless. Try it and see. This is a great investment. The first edition in four separate bindings is worth seeking out, though Stein tends to be pricey. But just read it in any edition. You'll love it. Bob Finley
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