Gertrude Stein

Bio

(1874-1946) Poet, short story writer, novelist. Gertrude Stein stayed at the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, New York; she also lived in a house on Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side during the winter of 1902-1903, after which she moved to Paris, where she spent most of her life. She returned to New York for a visit in 1934, following the publication of her successful novel “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas” (1933), which is written from the perspective of her longtime lover and companion. Known for her distinctive writing style, which uses repetition in a manner that reflects the experimentation with perspective found in the work of the Cubists, Stein was an important figure in the modernist movement of the post-World War I era. Her Paris home served as a gathering place for such artists and writers as, among others, Matisse, Picasso, Hemmingway, and Fitzgerald, all of whom benefitted from her influence in either their work or careers.