Gertrude Stein and her audience : small presses, little magazines, and the reconfiguration of modern authorship
Date
2010
Authors
McKay, Kali
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of English, c2010
Abstract
This thesis examines the publishing career of Gertrude Stein, an American
expatriate writer whose experimental style left her largely unpublished throughout much
of her career. Stein’s various attempts at dissemination illustrate the importance she
placed on being paid for her work and highlight the paradoxical relationship between
Stein and her audience. This study shows that there was an intimate relationship
between literary modernism and mainstream culture as demonstrated by Stein’s need for
the public recognition and financial gains by which success had long been measured.
Stein’s attempt to embrace the definition of the author as a professional who earned a
living through writing is indicative of the developments in art throughout the first
decades of the twentieth century, and it problematizes modern authorship by reemphasizing
the importance of commercial success to artists previously believed to
have been indifferent to the reaction of their audience.
Description
iv, 89 leaves ; 29 cm
Keywords
Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946 , Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946 -- Criticism and interpretation , Women authors, American -- 19th century -- Criticism and interpretation , Literature publishing , Small presses , Dissertations, Academic