Stein by Catharine R. Stimpson; Harriet Chessman; Gertrude Stein

This essential second volume captures the triumphant and experimental later years of one of twentieth-century literature's most radical innovators. The anthology opens with the dense, abstract poetic sequence Stanzas in Meditation and features major works such as Ida, Lectures in America, and her book-length study Picasso. Crucially for queer and feminist studies, the collection also compiles her brilliant theatrical works, including Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights and her famous opera The Mother of Us All—a vibrant collaboration with composer Virgil Thomson celebrating the life of women's rights pioneer Susan B. Anthony. Complete with extensive scholarly notes by Chessman and Stimpson, this compendium maps Stein's enduring linguistic subversions and her navigation of life in occupied France alongside her lifelong partner, Alice B. Toklas.