25 Gertrude Stein Quotes: Iconic American Writer

Step into the shoes of a literary giant with our Gertrude Stein quotes. 

Gertrude Stein rubbed shoulders with some of the most brilliant minds on the planet on her road to success. 

Find out more about this leading figure in modernist literature with our Gertrude Stein quotes. 

Who was Gertrude Stein?

Gertrude Stein was an American writer.

She is considered one of the leading figures in modernist writing.

Check out these interesting Gertrude Stein facts below: 

• Her salon in Paris was popular. 
• Stein’s work changed the scope of how literature was consumed. 
• “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose,” and “there is no there there” are two of her quotes that changed literature. 

Gertrude Stein’s impact on society

Stein was an American writer and art collector. 

She wrote novels, poems, plays, and an autobiography. 

Her work challenged narratives about sexuality, feminism, and love. 

My Journey with Gertrude Stein

As an undergraduate, I was immersed in a world of new authors. 

Literary giants like Ralph Ellison and analysis from genius minds like Trey Ellis were making their presence known to me. 

Majoring in English and minoring in Africana Studies allowed me to sharpen my command of communication and reinforce my love for my culture. 

However, I was required to take many classes on other forms of literature and literary theory that I would have probably not read independently. 

This was my introduction to Gertrude Stein. 

Admittedly, at nineteen years old, I was not mature enough to enjoy and appreciate reading the works of Gertrude Stein. 

As an adult, I sincerely appreciate her body of work and how she impacted the writing world. 

Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picaso

I was caught off guard early in the game by Stein’s style. 

Her writing challenges the reader to consume in a holistic and multi-dimensional way. 

She is communicating information from the past, present, and future nonlinearly.

Her work reminds us that time is not a linear line but a meandering flowing river that spills back into itself and creates new lanes. 

Some compare her to Pablo Picaso. 

Picasso’s work presented art from various angles; it forced the viewer to expand how they saw physical reality. 

It reflected the fluidity of everything.

Stein used words the way Pablo used images. 

Her words hit the reader from different angles, making the mind more vicious and fluid. 

To learn more, check out our Gertrude Stein quotes below. 

Short Gertrude Stein quotes from the phenomenal author 

Let’s start our list with these short and sweet Gertrude Stein quotes. 

1. “We are always the same age inside.” — Gertrude Stein 

2. “Whenever you get there, there is no there there.” — Gertrude Stein 

3. “Nothing is more interesting than something that you eat.” — Gertrude Stein 

4. “Nothing is really so very frightening when everything is so very dangerous.” — Gertrude Stein 

5. “One does not get better but different and older, and that is always a pleasure.” — Gertrude Stein

The top Gertrude Stein quotes about literature and literacy 

Stein loved learning, writing, and communication. 

Check out some of her quotes on the power of writing. 

6. “It takes a heap of loafing to write a book.” — Gertrude Stein 

7. “A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears.” — Gertrude Stein 

8. “Literature  creative literature  unconcerned with sex, is inconceivable.” — Gertrude Stein 

9. “I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences.” — Gertrude Stein 

10. “A little artist has all the tragic unhappiness and the sorrows of a great artist, and he is not a great artist.” — Gertrude Stein 

The best Gertrude Stein quotes about following your passion and abundance

Check out these hilarious and insightful quotes about abundance and passion from Gertrude Stein. 

11. “I do want to get rich.” — Gertrude Stein 

12. “I never want to do what there is to get rich.” — Gertrude Stein 

13. “The thing that differentiates man from animals is money.” — Gertrude Stein 

14. “It takes a lot of time to be a genius: You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.” — Gertrude Stein 

15. “You look ridiculous if you dance. You look ridiculous when you don’t dance. So you might as well dance.” — Gertrude Stein

Powerful Gertrude Stein quotes from A Circular Play

Below we find some moving quotes about the magic of a circle. 

16. “We each have our circle.” — Gertrude Stein, A Circular Play 

17. “A great deal of beauty is rapture.” — Gertrude Stein, A Circular Play 

18. “It is always a mistake to be plain-spoken.” — Gertrude Stein, A Circular Play 

19. “A circle is a necessity; otherwise, you would see no one.” — Gertrude Stein, A Circular Play 

20. “A beauty is not suddenly in a circle. It comes with rapture.” — Gertrude Stein, A Circular Play 

Gertrude Stein quotes and sayings from Are There Arithmetics

We close our list with these classic quotes from Gertrude Stein. 

21. “No sense in no sense innocence and delight.” — Gertrude Stein, Are There Arithmetics

22. “Let me recite what history teaches. History teaches.” — Gertrude Stein, Are There Arithmetics

23. “No sense in no sense innocence of what of not and what of delight.” — Gertrude Stein, Are There Arithmetics

24. “In no sense and delight, and in no sense and delight and not in no sense and delight and not.” — Gertrude Stein, Are There Arithmetics

25. “In no sense innocence in no sense and what in delight and not, in no sense innocence in no sense no sense what.” — Gertrude Stein, Are There Arithmetics

Be fully you!

Gertrude Stein’s life is a playbook on how to be yourself fully. 

She never allowed the judgments of others to stop her from always fully being Gertrude. 

We all need the space to fully be ourselves. 

What is your favorite Gertrude Stein quote?

Be sure to let us know in the comments below.