Loy and Stein do ~brunch~
(Loy and Stein are sitting across from each other at a café somewhere in NYC)
Loy:
“Breakfasting on rain” (45)
Stein:
“An occasion for a plate” (7)
Loy:
“Relaxed for tea” (124)
(Waiter enters)
Stein:
“A single example of excellence is the meat” (31)
Loy:
“Flesh from flesh” (57)
“With a greasy residuum” (45)
“Green things grow/Salads” (61)
Stein:
“Apple plum, carpet steak, seed clam, colored wine, calm seen, cold cream, best shake, potato, potato” (30)
(long pause of silence)
Stein:
“a compressed disease and no coffee” (56)
(Waiter exits)
Stein:“Next to me next to a folder, next to a folder some waiter, next to a folder some waiter and re letter and read her. Read her with her for less.” (39)
“Next to me next to a folder, next to a folder some waiter, next to a folder some waiter and re letter and read her. Read her with her for less.” (39)
Loy:
“Your lone fragility/ of mythological queens/ conjures long-vanished dragons-/- their vast jaws yawning in disillusion” (103)
Each source was cited accordingly:
Stein, Gertrude. Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms. Dover Publications, Inc., 1997.
Loy, Mina, and Roger L. Conover. The Lost Lunar Baedeker: Poems of Mina Loy. Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999.
This “ready made” conversation, formed of snippets from their writings, is pure genius, drawing attention to the interest in food shared by both writers. I also love the conceit of having them at a restaurant, interrupted by a waiter, because it draws attention to the way their work serves up outrageous fare that disrupts everyday exchanges and practices. I’m not sure if you meant to repeat Stein’s line “next to me a folder” twice, but it actually adds a funny twist because, in spite of her tendency to repeat words and phrases to the point of unintelligibility, Stein insisted, “I never repeat myself.” For of course, every repetition entails a difference.