To ‘B’ or not to ‘B’: Alice 1877-1967

March 7th, 2010 § 2

In the lives of famous people anniversaries are easy to find. The only decision is whether you limit them to years ending in 0 or 5 and determining whether any number preceding those is far game.

In Europe, where anniversaries are a really big deal, numbers have gone into the 1,000’s for city anniversaries and into the 100’s for famous writers, artists, composers and major historic events. As you see below, I’m not limiting myself to the ‘0 or 5′ anniversary formula.

Another anniversary today – it’s forty-three years since the death of Alice B.  Toklas.  Not just Alice Toklas, but Alice B. Toklas!

And that’s the rub, the ‘B.’ (Sounds a bit Steinian, like something from TENDER BUTTONS or LIFTING BELLY.)

Alice B., early 1960s

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“…my little dog knows me” revisited

February 18th, 2010 § 2

Last November I posted a blog about the sudden death of our English Springer Spaniel Ollie and paralleled the importance of him in our lives with the role that dogs played in the lives of GertrudeandAlice.  I ended the piece anticipating a grand-nephew of Ollie’s, a new little dog who would come to know us.

Well, Fritz arrived last week Priority Parcel on American Airlines from Dallas to San Francisco.  This little fellow has already accumulated a lot of miles considering he was born in Ohio!

So here he is:

Fritz on his 3 month birthday today

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They say it’s your birthday…

February 3rd, 2010 § 0

On this, Gertrude Stein’s 136th birthday, first the facts:

Born: February 3, 1874

Where: Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburgh

Parents: Amelia and Daniel Stein

Siblings: Michael, Bertha, Simon and Leo

Then the cake, not an Alice creation, but one I think she would have made and Gertrude would have eaten it and loved it:

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A Stein-Jo Davidson Kind of Week

January 24th, 2010 § 0

This past week I was in New York City (with a stopover first in Baltimore to visit Gertrude’s cousin, Julian Stein, Jr. – more on that later) and as usual stayed at the Bryant Park Hotel not far from the Jo Davidson sculpture of Gertrude Stein in Bryant Park.

The sculpture has been in the park since 1992 and was donated by Dr. Maury Leibowitz. This casting is number eight in an edition of ten.  I don’t remember the first time that I saw it and it’s certainly a coincidence that the hotel that I’ve stayed in for years happens to be nearby.  When I’m here, however, I make a point of visiting it.

A picture of the sculpture is deceptive since it looks so much larger in a photo than it really is.  It’s  only a little more than about 2 feet wide and maybe 3 feet high, but is very imposing because of Gertrude’s Buddha-like seated position.

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…1. January 1910

December 29th, 2009 § 0

From the imagined journal of Alice B. Toklas:

“1.January 1910, 27 rue de Fleurus

All the guests have left and Gertrude has retired. What a glorious evening!

And so a new year begins with the most wonderful of news which I will share at the end of today’s entry, saving the best for last.

Paris, 1910

I was asked by Gertrude and Leo to assist in preparing the holiday’s food which I did with pleasure. There are so many recipes that I have collected from my grandmother and mother and many of our cooks that someday I may have to do a cook book.

Assisting with soirées here has become such a pleasurable task as I have become quite familiar with the household as I come daily to transcribe Gertrude’s notebooks on the Smith-Premier typewriter—a marvelous apparatus.

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Happy Holidays with Continuous Presents

December 15th, 2009 § 1

For more than thirty years I’ve been mailing collaged, holiday cards at the end of the year. I would take a postcard and cover it with various stickers or other pictures or text found in magazines and add a catchy phrase linking it to the holidays.

About twenty years ago, these cards took on a GertrudeandAlice twist. The Ladies from rue de Fleurus became the focus of the cards and the annual greeting, with its usual irreverent humor,  seems to have become something that friends looked forward to receiving each December.  (Some of my friends have told me that they’ve kept all of the cards over the years, ready for a retrospective exhibition!)

Card of Holidays Past 2003

Card of Holidays Past 2003

Card of Holidays Past 2004

Card of Holidays Past 2004

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Gertrude Stein in Words and Pictures and Words and Pictures and Words and…

December 6th, 2009 § 0

People often ask me which of Gertrude Stein’s works they should read first.  Sometimes the question comes from someone who knows very little about GertrudeandAlice.  Sometimes it comes from someone who has heard of them and only knows Gertrude through her most famous quotes: “Rose is a…,” or “No there…” and knows Alice because of her cookbook’s most famous recipe the “H–hish Fudge aka ABT Bro-nies.”

Usually I’ve encouraged them to begin with THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS.  The book is very accessible, written in a straight forward narrative style with just enough touches of Gertrude’s stylistic word-play and chronology shuffling to let the reader know that this masterpiece of modernist literature is just that – a masterpiece of modernist literature.

GertrudeandAlice with words (to typeset) in a picture circa 1935

GertrudeandAlice with words (to typeset) in a picture circa 1935

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The Puppies Have Arrived and Thanks Giving

November 19th, 2009 § 0

The puppies were born yesterday and it’s time for thanks giving as the circle of life continues on this round, round world.Hector_day1Juanita_day1Diego_day1Consuela_day1Chuy_day1Alfredo_day1[1]

“…Alice suddenly appeared to announce dinner – I had by that time forgotten that it was Thanksgiving-and Gertrude put us to work setting the table.

I have never known such a Thanksgiving feast in my life. It must, I suppose, have been enhanced by the fact that it was completely unexpected, but the amount and quality of the food amounted to a spectacle. I was very moved when I learned that most of the traditional. American foods-including sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, marshmallows, cranberries, all unheard of in Paris had been specifically ordered from America for this dinner and for us.

In her usual direct, positive way, Gertrude said that she felt that American children needed to have an American Thanksgiving.” Fritz Peters from BOYHOOD WITH GURDJIEFF

Welcome to our world and thank you for coming! We too have never known such a Thanksgiving.

Two Baskets, Byron, Pépé, and Ollie

November 4th, 2009 § 3

When I began writing this blog, I had no idea how personal some of what I’d write might be. This is an issue that  bloggers face.  I assumed that I would write relatively spontaneously about various things that came to mind about GertrudeandAlice and my relationship with them over a period of almost 25 years- personal insights, but not really personal.

About a week ago, however, we had to put our nine year old English Springer Spaniel Ollie to sleep after a very sudden and unexpected illness. So this post will be quite personal.

Dogs are family and the sadness and loss felt when they are gone and the tears shed for them are family tears.

The French poodles, Basket I and II and the two chihuahuas, Byron and Pépé were an integral part of GertrudeandAlice’s family.  The Springer Spaniel, Oliver, Ollie for short, was an integral part of ours.

Ollie, summer 2009

Ollie, summer 2009

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They’re Here, Captain – 24. Oct., 1934!

October 14th, 2009 § 3

In a few days, October 24th to be exact, marks the 75th anniversary of  GertrudeandAlice’s arrival in New York City for the beginning of their six-month U.S. lecture tour.  I’ve mentioned the tour several times in previous posts, so instead of rehashing some of the details again, I thought I’d present the tour in verse.

Though initially a Berlin-based, Baby Boomer, two of the icons of my Illinois childhood were Captain Kangaroo and Dr. Seuss.  I wanted to be Captain Kangaroo when I grew up and wanted to write books like Dr. Seuss.

One of the things that The Captain often did on his television show was to read a picture book, paging through the book as he read as if  you were on his lap and he was reading to you.  I don’t remember if Bunny Rabbit or Mr. Moose took part – certainly not Grandfather Clock who was undoubtedly asleep.

The Captain and Bunny Rabbit

The Captain and Bunny Rabbit

So, several years ago I began a series of stories about GertrudeandAlice with an eye toward The Captain reading them and Dr. Seuss politely giving a nod of approval to my rhyming efforts.  Each story incorporates actual historic facts about their lives though liberties are taken with the rhyming scheme. (For anyone who remembers scanning poems in English class, the meter in some of these stanzas is not perfect.)

Let the tour begin!

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