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grayjay's review against another edition
2.0
Tender Buttons is a collection of prose poems divided into three sections: objects, food, and rooms. The poems themselves make very little sense as they experiment with idiosyncratic grammer and a 'cubist' view of each subject.
She displaces the objects from their familiar context. Apparently, the purpose is to disassociate the reader from any expected interpretation of the object, destroying the relationship between the signified and signifier.
Not any easy read. I sort of skimmed it.
She displaces the objects from their familiar context. Apparently, the purpose is to disassociate the reader from any expected interpretation of the object, destroying the relationship between the signified and signifier.
Not any easy read. I sort of skimmed it.
lsparrow's review against another edition
1.0
I found the style of poems too abstract for me to connect to. It felt like one of those pictures that you are supposed to see something 3D jump out at you when you look with the correct focus - those never work for me - I always feel I am almost there but can never do it.
casparb's review
5.0
2023!!!! she keeps! its true and I just find, more every year ., a sideways love,.,, act so that there is no use in a centre
2022Reread this lovely I adore her so much & look I wrote a review, stumbling as it is, back in 2020 which I'm not writing over (palimpsestically!) for once. Diagonal prose
2020:
All sorts of strangeness & obscurity. So experimental, yet so early - it has been suggested that this experimental masterpiece was ignored due to Stein's being a woman.
I'm sure anyone that tries to read this will blink at the first page and question whether it is worth pursuing. It's undeniably a difficult work, crab-like in such a way that reminds me of Derrida's 'diagonal prose'. A possible key to this book is to (attempt to) read it rhizomatically. It is centreless.
I was reminded at times of the poems of W.S. Graham - I think this is because both Stein and Graham were literary figures that associated with sculptors and painters, rather than with poets. There is something in the defamiliarised, abstract descriptions of objects that reminds me of modernist sculpture. All is extension and shape - a practice often neglected by writers.
2022Reread this lovely I adore her so much & look I wrote a review, stumbling as it is, back in 2020 which I'm not writing over (palimpsestically!) for once. Diagonal prose
2020:
All sorts of strangeness & obscurity. So experimental, yet so early - it has been suggested that this experimental masterpiece was ignored due to Stein's being a woman.
I'm sure anyone that tries to read this will blink at the first page and question whether it is worth pursuing. It's undeniably a difficult work, crab-like in such a way that reminds me of Derrida's 'diagonal prose'. A possible key to this book is to (attempt to) read it rhizomatically. It is centreless.
I was reminded at times of the poems of W.S. Graham - I think this is because both Stein and Graham were literary figures that associated with sculptors and painters, rather than with poets. There is something in the defamiliarised, abstract descriptions of objects that reminds me of modernist sculpture. All is extension and shape - a practice often neglected by writers.
emrogoreadsomething's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
afvick's review
The real problem with contemporary poetry is that no one has the guts to put 4 poems called “Chicken” back-to-back in their books anymore
selmendoooza's review
4.0
truthfully, there’s a lot in here I didn’t “understand,” yet here I go with my rating of four stars (though I would maybe do 3.5 if I could)...
I really enjoyed the idea of writing prose or poems based on objects and it made me want to do something similar myself, though I’m not sure it would be so Stein-ish... more than anything, I enjoyed reading this aloud and hearing the sound of the words arranged on the pages. there were lots of little moments I wanted to underline to repeat over and over just for the sound and feel of the language. Stein absolutely experiments with language all throughout and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the other reviews because it seems many echo my feeling of knowing *something* is there but not being quite sure what that is. if nothing else, this is a book I can pick up and read for a bit just to inspire my own experimentation with meaning and language in writing.
I really enjoyed the idea of writing prose or poems based on objects and it made me want to do something similar myself, though I’m not sure it would be so Stein-ish... more than anything, I enjoyed reading this aloud and hearing the sound of the words arranged on the pages. there were lots of little moments I wanted to underline to repeat over and over just for the sound and feel of the language. Stein absolutely experiments with language all throughout and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the other reviews because it seems many echo my feeling of knowing *something* is there but not being quite sure what that is. if nothing else, this is a book I can pick up and read for a bit just to inspire my own experimentation with meaning and language in writing.
clydebean's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.0
Reading this made me feel like I was going literally crazy