The literary legacy of Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) consists of numerous works in which the traditional restraints of language are abandoned for spontaneous and surprising expression. Her writings challenge the reader, yet also offer an inviting liberation, and because of this they have not only endured but proven highly influential. The Gertrude Stein Reader collects fifty one of Stein's poems, stories, portraits, and plays, along with excerpts from Matisse, Picasso, and Gertrude Stein with Two Shorter Stories; A Book Concluding with As a Wife Has a Cow, A Love Story; Geography and Plays; An Acquaintance with a Description; and Useful Knowledge. The extensive introduction provides a brief biography and explains the impact her work had on subsequent writers and artists.

"Avant-garde champion Richard Kostelanetz collects 34 lesser-known works you won't find in Selected Writings, and these 'difficult' pieces—rejected by publishers in their time—are wild, witty, and brilliant. ... In his lively, passionate introduction and in commentary throughout, Kostelanetz elucidates without pretension or condescension. Three cheers." - Out Magazine

"As Kostelanetz writes in the introduction, though Stein died more than 50 years ago, her writings still feel fresh and contemporary." - Curve

"The Gertrude Stein Reader not only collects Stein's most exciting experimental writing but also provides a context for understanding it. Kostelanetz's lucid, precise, and unpretentious introduction is particularly useful." - Seattle Weekly

"A new collection of her more esoteric short-form writing, The Gertrude Stein Reader , advances the cause for an appreciation of Stein at her most avant-garde and unpopular." - Seattle Weekly