Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas

by Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Samuel M. Steward

Letters to Steward from the famous expatriate pair, dating from the 1930s through 1966, reflect a true friendship among the correspondents, the striking personalities of Stein and Toklas, and their life in Paris

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Gay, Biography

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Gertrude Stein was an American writer who spent most of her life in France, and who became a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. Her life was marked by two primary relationships, the first with her brother Leo Stein, from 1874-1914, and the second with Alice B. Toklas, from 1907 until Stein's death in 1946. Stein shared her salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris, first with Leo and then with Alice. Throughout her lifetime, Stein cultivated significant tertiary relationships with well-known members of the avant garde artistic and literary world of her time.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is both a memoir by an interesting character (one who is often omitted from fat biographies of Gertrude and Alice), and an intimate collection of letters from the famous couple to their dear “Sammy".

Having read the fascinating biography of Samuel Steward (Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade), I had behind the scenes glimpses of the events glossed over in the memoir and the letters. Samuel Steward was a larger than life character, too over the top to be believed, and who remains largely unknown. This volume is an ideal companion to Secret Historian.

[Sequelguerrier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! The letters, beyond providing a real glimpse into the personalities of Stein and Toklas capture the very real warmth and friendship of the two ladies for their 'Sammy' and it is clear that he repaid that friendship in kind. Stewards little memoir is revealing of the relationship and, in these days of tell it all, a beacon of kindness and real affection. Like it has been said by others, Steward is still often excised from the story of Stein and Toklas probably because he was not a 'fitting' cultural star. What those who exclude him forget is that 'fitting' is the last word any of those who Stein promoted would really have seen as an appropriate adjective for themselves. They were avant garde, revolutionary, wild, never fitting until many decades later when Picasso did no longer shock or scandalise. 'Sammy' chose a path that took him places even Alice initially had trouble quite accepting or understanding. But her reaction at his revelation that he has given up teaching for tattooing is indicative of the spirit - hers and Gertrude's...Alice thinks 'on second thought, she might have found it very interesting...' Literary critics and biographers of seminal figures of 20th Century literature and art obviously find it more difficult to be open minded than the subjects of their biographies or studies. Whatever they think, this little book combining the letters from the ladies and 'Sammy's' personal reminiscences is a very human as well as important part of the legacy of Alice and Gertrude that very much included Samuel Steward.

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel M. Steward começou a trocar correspondência com Gertrude Stein, uma americana expatriada em Paris de quem Steward era grande admirador, em 1932, quando ainda era professor universitário no Ohio (depois viria a ser o tatuador Phil Sparrow, em Chicago, e mais tarde o escritor de porno gay, Phil Andros, em San Francisco... sobre a excêntrica vida de Steward, recomendo a biografia publicada por Justin Spring, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade).

A correspondência prolongou-se até à morte de Stein, depois da II Grande Guerra Mundial, em 1946, mas antes disso, Steward teve a oportunidade de fazer algumas visitas (em 1937 e 1939) à famosa escritora em Billignin, França, onde normalmente ela passava as férias de verão. Nessas visitas, para além de grandes artistas que frequentavam o "boudoir" da escritora, como Thornton Wilder, Cecil Beaton, Thomas Mann ou André Gide, Sam conheceu Alice B. Toklas, a inseparável companheira de Stein com quem, após a morte desta, Steward continuaria a corresponder-se e a quem continuaria a visitar e a enviar pequenos presentes da América que a deixavam deslumbrada.

Steward organizou o seu livro "Dear Sammy" em duas partes:
1. na primeira parte, que tem cerca de 120 páginas, oferece-nos uma descrição detalhada das suas memórias de Stein e Toklas, explicando e enquadrando, ilustrando com fotos, e chegando ao ponto de transcrever diálogos (a partir das notas que tomava todas as noites quando se encontrava em Billignin), o que aporta uma extraordinária riqueza e vivacidade ao texto;
2. na segunda parte, apresenta a correspondência que recebeu de Gertrude Stein e de Alice B. Toklas. Curiosamente, apesar do maior interesse literário contido nas cartas de Stein, com o seu estilo próprio e inconfundível, são as cartas de Toklas, em maior quantidade e mais extensas que as de Stein, que retratam melhor quem as escreveu, uma mulher culta, forte e determinada, que no fim da vida decide abraçar a religião.

Um livro muito interessante, elegantemente escrito e apresentado, para quem quiser conhecer melhor, e em primeira mão, a vida e o pensamento de Gerturde Stein, Alice B. Toklas e Sam Steward.

[mark mendoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is excellent: a fine memoir with occasional insights into the writings and Stein's letters (albeit brief because of the war). Sadly, most of Alice's correspondence is not particularly compelling.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelist-turned-tattoo-artist Samuel Steward's recollections of his handful of visits with Gertrude and Alice make for an exquisite memoir but most of this book is unfortunately composed of letters -- short spirited ones from Stein until shortly before her death, and longer, loving, yet repetitive ones from Toklas who eventually found comfort in the Catholic Church. Your enjoyment of "Dear Sammy" may be based on how much you can extract from tales of broken knees, broken arms, bouts of the flu and Asiatic grippe alongside gushy thank yous for scarves and kitchen appliances. Mine was minimal.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love gossip

[Clarence Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful read!