Tender Buttons

A classic work of experimental poetry by a titan of modernist literature

Tender Buttons, Stein’s first published work of poetry, debuted in 1914 as a volume of powerful avant-garde expression. This meditation on ordinary living is presented in three compelling sections—“Objects,” “Food,” and “Rooms”—through which Stein delights in experiments with language. Emphasizing rhythm and sonority over traditional grammar, Stein’s wordplay has garnered praise from readers and critics alike. In “A Piece of Coffee,” for example, Stein plays with conventional language and cubist imagery to produce a stunningly original literary effect:

A single image is not splendor. Dirty is yellow. A sign of more is not mentioned. A piece of coffee is not a detainer. The resemblance to yellow is dirtier and distincter. The clean mixture is whiter and not coal color, never more coal color than altogether.

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