This left me wondering exactly what the moment they met was like…what was the conversation like? What was the vibe? Did they instantly hit it off? What did they talk about and how did their initial conversation shape their thoughts and their individual work?<\/p>\n
This kind of moment seemed like one both Loy and Stein would reminisce on later in life, and in the spirit of the avant-garde, what better way to reminisce than publicly\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<\/em>via an innovative new form of technology.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Thus, “On Air with Gertrude Stein and Mina Loy” was born.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pzzzzzrrrrttt.<\/p>\n A clicking sound and a thump.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIs this thing on?\u201d It is the voice of Gertrude Stein\u2014low and sharp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Muffled sounds are heard.<\/p>\n A distant scratching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c\u2026what a beautifully odd contraption\u2026\u201d This voice sounds further away\u2014dreamier, lighter, and slightly higher in pitch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe microphone Mina. Move closer to the microphone.\u201d Silence. Stein\u2019s voice, now bearing an edge of annoyance, continues, \u201cThere! The small silver box connected to the long arm\u2026do you see it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c\u2026ahhh\u2026yes\u2026here we go.\u201d Mina Loy\u2019s voice sounds louder now, and less distant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGrand,\u201d Stein says. \u201cLet\u2019s begin.\u201d<\/p>\n \n It is the mid-1930\u2019s and Gertrude Stein and Mina Loy have found themselves in the dusty, cramped studio of a radio station in New York. In the disruptive spirit of Futurism, Stein and Loy are interrupting the station\u2019s usual nightly broadcast of jazz music to reminisce on the first time they met. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein:<\/em> Florence. Mabel\u2019s house. Shimmering curtains. Thick oriental rugs. Plumes of cigar-smoke. Un-polished mahogany chairs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy: <\/em>I recall some slight rippling of life\u2026a cat emerging from behind a swelling curtain. Did Mabel possess such a feline?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>Is it important? We\u2019re here to discuss the moment we met, Mina!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy: <\/em>(laughing) Always so sensible\u2026that\u2019s the first thing I noticed about you, Gerty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>Please. You do know how I loathe that nickname.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy <\/em>(adopting a tone of seriousness): I believe that the environment in which we met was crucial to the formation of our friendship, do you not?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>Yes. Of course. Two women meeting each other within the domestic sphere of another woman\u2026quite interesting really…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy: <\/em>Yes! It is difficult as a woman to not feel trapped in one\u2019s own home, and not to feel even more en-caged in the home of another woman. Yet I remember feeling this inescapable sense of entrapment vanish over the course of our introduction and conversation. Perhaps it was the artistic possibilities of which we spoke, or the way in which we instantly confided in one another. Were we not two rambling souls who happened to find each other at the perfect moment in history?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>Precisely. The conversation we began that evening in Mabel\u2019s house, among plates of bruschetta\u2014<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy <\/em>(easily distracted): Oh! The bruschetta!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: \u2014has continued incessantly, has it not? That is what I believe is the compulsory ingredient, if you will, for a productive and fulfilling friendship between two women. If a dialogue is not continuous, then what hope is there for psychological and creative advancement?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy: <\/em>Spiritual advancement too, I say. As I do not consider myself a poet, I will call what others refer to as my poetry as my writing. I can say with a certain confidence that my writing would be drastically different if we had never met that evening at Mabel\u2019s. From you, Gerty, I learned that a great deal of complexity can be found in simplicity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>Ah simplicity! I find it humorous that we spoke of the importance of simplicity that evening\u2014in a room which was quite the opposite! Was there a square inch of any part of that parlor which was not bedecked with gold leaf or brocade?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy <\/em>(with a melodious giggle): Only the cat! if it did in fact exist. The differentiation between illusion and memory is becoming increasingly difficult for me\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stein: <\/em>For Salvador as well! Persistence of memory does dictate creativity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Loy<\/em> (mentally generating a chaotic slew of creative ideas): That it does, Gerty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/courses.suzannechurchill.com\/eng394-f17\/files\/2017\/09\/on-air-stein-1024x816.png\")
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