A WAR IS A WAR IS A WAR

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 316, 13 July 1945, Page 12

A WAR IS A WAR IS A WAR

| Gertrude Stein Gives A Lecture on Deportment

ny OST of our readers know about Gertrude Stein, the _ self-exiled American writer (now 71 years old) whom all Americans regard as a great writer and scarcely any of them can read. A few weeks ago a Red Cross club asked her to "say a few words" to American soldiers in Paris, and the result was what "Life" called "a rousing lecture on deportment." Here is a correspondent’s report of what happened.

HIS Stein is easier to understand when she is talking than when she is writing, but a considerable gap remains between her mind and that of the average GI. Some members of her soldier audience are still trying to figure out the Steinian views on life, humanity and the war which the little old lady expounded with such energy and directness the other

night. Miss Stein’s delivery was in fact so forceful, even though she remained seated on the platform through most of her lecture, that those who tried to argue with her were left hanging in the air. "You're all too serious," was the substance of her complaint. "If we aren’t terribly careful the Germans are going to win this war in the sense that all human feeling will be lost between people and nations. Nowadays nobody says anything nice to anybody any more. Every day somebody should say something nice about somebody else. Every nation should say something nice about another nation. Each of you should be like Boy Scouts and smile at least once a day at Frenchmen." The French; Miss Stein went on to Say, are utterly exhausted by the strain of their spiritual campaign against the Germans, "They ignored them," she explained. "They just looked right through them as though they weren’t there. But that’s an exhausting programme to stick to for four years, Americans don’t realise the depth of French fatigue. Their feeling in the occupation was that some time the Americans would come and then everything would be wonderful. Then the Americans came. They were all solemn, serious, hard-working boys, and the French were very disappointed. "You Must Smile at Somebody" "Tt’s difficult to explain-you see, the last American army sort of came over on a vacation-by comparison with your experiences it was a sort of vacation. They had their action in concentrated doses and then they ‘came back here and got drunk and were very gay. The French expected you to be like them and you aren’t. You’re serious; you do your job; you don’t always get drunk, at least not all of you-last time everybody was drunk all the time, "You must smile at somebody-it’s shameful-*you never smile at anybody, not even at children. Twenty-five years ago you all had broad grins on your faces all day long-now how many of you have smiled to-day at a Frenchman or a French woman or even at a French child? Ga on, raise your hands-how many of you?" One lone hand showed. Then the fireworks started. A captain got up. "I rise to the defence. of the American soldier," he began. "Now, on this issue of sobriety. .." That was as far as he got. After five minutes of trying to get a word in edgewise on the issue of sobriety, ’ he sat down, a defeated man. "Don't Worry So Much" Another hand waved, "You over there, what do you want?" said Miss Stein. "T rise to the defence of the captain," said a GI. The room exploded in laughter. After a while he got started again; "Miss Stein, I think you misunderstood the captain on the question of being sober. You see, we’ve got another war to fight when this one. . ." Here Miss Stein delivered a brief tenminute dissertation concerning the im(continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) possibility of anyone’s being able to predict when there would be another war, although there undoubtedly would be one, and then the GI started again: "Miss Stein, I mean the war in the Pacific. You see, when we get through over here. . ." "Good heavens, man, don’t worry so much! All right, you’ll have to go to the Pacific. In the Pacific you’ll have people to smile at too-not Japs (waving her finger)-nobody wants to smile at Japs -but there are Chinamen-Chinamen are kindly people too. What I am getting at is that in this horrible war we're in danger of losing our humanity. The trouble is you're all feeling too sorry for yourselves, everybody’s feeling sorry for themselves-well, go on, what is it?" Thinking is a Solemn Process Another GI had raised his hand. "I’m only half educated," he said. "In the last war we were totally ignorant (laughter). But I’m worried, Miss Stein. That’s why I read books like this’-he produced Woodrow Wilson and the Lost Peace"Now I’ve been thinking and I’m worried. . ." "For heaven’s sake, man,’’ Miss Stein broke in, "don’t think so much! Thinking is a solemn process. It worries you when you're thinking. Now I’m supposed to be one of the great thinkers of our time. (Laughter from Stein and the audience.) Well, anyway I’ve been thinking all my life and I assure you it’s a solemn process. But you’ve got to stop thinking and lean over the fence and talk to your neighbour about the crops, Definition of a Genius "Now let me tell you something. The other day Picasso and I were talking and we said to each other, ‘Well, we’re geniuses, there doesn’t seem to be much doubt about that.’ Then we started trying to find out what makes us geniuses different from every other Tom, Dick and Harry. Well, it’s very difficult. It’s almost impossible. "We live on this earth and we see something else, An artist sees something else and tries to create it. The rest of us see it and are subject to it. The artist, in trying to create it, dominates

it. The rest of us are dominated by it~ birth, life, death, the finite, and the infinite. Do you see what I mean? The artist is active, by his action he dominates life and its worries, Others are dominated by it. If you think too much about that you worry too much." Along here another GI raised his hand: "Miss Stein, I understand Picasso has been reading Karl recently and .. ." "Picasso’s been reading Marx?" said Miss Stein, "He’s never read Marx. He’s never read a book in his life. I assure you he hasn’t. I’ve known him for 40 years--he can’t read a book." Suddenly one GI, who early in the session had made several vain attempts to interrupt, jumped to his feet and shouted in the ringing accents of the Bronx: "I object!" "You object?" said Miss Stein. "Well, go on, what do you object to?" "I object to the speaker’s attempt to dominate the audience. This is a parliamentary meeting. . ." "Good gracious heavens, man," exploded Miss Stein, "I’ve been invited here to dominate the atidience! (Smiling) that’s what I’m supposed to do. . ." "I still object," continued the GI, glowering fiercely. "This is a _ parliamentary discussion and nobody can get a word in edgewise. . ." Then somebody pulled him back down on his seat. Good Average Plumbing Still dominating her audience, Miss Stein waved an okay to another GI. "Coming back to your talk about artists, Miss Stein," he said, "maybe we aren't all artists, but we all do something and do our best at it. Take plumbing for instance-plumbing is important too, and I’d like to 7 the best plumber. . ." Miss Stein waved him down. "There again you’d be worrying too much. No matter how hard you try you'll never turn out anything but good average plumbing. Good average plumbing is good enough and probably the best you or anyone else can do, so why worry about whose plumbing is better than yours .and whose is best?" Somewhere along here the discussion ended. That GI’s found it more than average good stimulation seemed beyond question. It might have gone on all night, but it had to stop sometime and so the Red Cross chairman got up and said she didn’t think we ought to tire Miss Stein any longer. When last seen, Miss Stein, in her shapeless russet. coat and little brown hat mashed on to her head, was shaking hands with the Bronx soldier who had tried to object. He was still glowering.