--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gertrude Stein said, \"I write for myself…" description: "\"Gertrude Stein said, \"I write for myself and strangers.\" I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.\" — Edward Hirsch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png" --- # Gertrude Stein said, "I write for myself and strangers." I… ![“Gertrude Stein said, "I write for myself and strangers." I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.” quote by Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png) > “Gertrude Stein said, "I write for myself and strangers." I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.” [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing serves both self-expression and connection with strangers and past voices. **In simple terms:** Write for self and others, including history. Key Takeaway Write for self and others. Themes writing connection legacy Mood contemplative respectful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - journaling - publishing - teaching writing Key Concepts self‑expression history audience Questions to Reflect On - How does your work honor past voices? - Who are the 'great dead' you wish to address? A Different Perspective Balancing personal and audience needs can be tough. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [He came after Homer and before Gertrude Stein, a difficult interval for a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/he-came-after-homer-and-before-gertrude-stein-a-difficult-interval/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Gertrude Stein did us the most harm when she said, 'You're all a lost generation.' That got around to certain people and we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/gertrude-stein-did-us-the-most-harm-when-she-said-you-re-all-a-lost/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I had learned of Gertrude Steins bon mot that medicine opened all doors. This prompted me, in different moods, to view my future life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-of-gertrude-steins-bon-mot-that-medicine-opened-all/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [When students are first at the Kerouac School we harp on Gertrude Stein's very basic poetic insistence that words are things . Not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/when-students-are-first-at-the-kerouac-school-we-harp-on-gertrude/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold, black suet-pudding… Cut it at any point, it is the same thing ... all fat, without nerve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-black-suet-pudding-cut-it-at/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [ON HER DEATHBED, Gertrude Stein is said to have asked, 'What is the answer?' Then, after a long silence, 'What is the question?' Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/on-her-deathbed-gertrude-stein-is-said-to-have-asked-what-is-the/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [ You are all a lost generation. \[with credit to Gertrude Stein\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-are-all-a-lost-generation-with-credit-to-gertrude-stein/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Because anybody can write, but not everybody invents new forms of writing. Gertrude Stein invented a new form of writing and her imitators are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-anybody-can-write-but-not-everybody-invents-new-forms-of/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Going to bed with Gertrude Stein, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Susan Sontag, or Margaret Thatcher: There are some things one prefers neither to do nor to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/going-to-bed-with-gertrude-stein-jeane-kirkpatrick-susan-sontag-or/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Is the professor who insists we read Ernest Hemingway again instead of Gertrude Stein "obsessing"? Because although I did a BA in English, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/is-the-professor-who-insists-we-read-ernest-hemingway-again-instead/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [The two greatest mannequins of the century were Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell - unquestionably. You just couldn't take a bad picture of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/the-two-greatest-mannequins-of-the-century-were-gertrude-stein-and/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [I murmured to Picasso that I liked his portrait of Gertrude Stein. Yes, he said, everybody said that she does not look like it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-murmured-to-picasso-that-i-liked-his-portrait-of-gertrude-stein-yes/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/gertrude-stein-all-courage-and-will-is-a-soldier-of-minimalism-her/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [It seems all "protection" has to be monitored, considered, weighed and justified - I am suggesting we do that (but it's something Mary Shelley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/it-seems-all-protection-has-to-be-monitored-considered-weighed-and/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Gertrude Stein was masterly in making nothing happen very slowly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/gertrude-stein-was-masterly-in-making-nothing-happen-very-slowly/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) ## More by Edward Hirsch > [And my experience is the best titles, for me, emerge in the process of writing. They don't usually come at the very beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/and-my-experience-is-the-best-titles-for-me-emerge-in-the-process-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“I did not know the work of mourning Is like carrying a bag of cement Up a mountain at night The mountaintop is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-did-not-know-the-work-of-mourning-is-like-carrying-a-bag-of-cement/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Fall" Fall, falling, fallen. That’s the way the season Changes its tense in the long-haired maples That dot the road; the veiny hand-shaped leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/fall-fall-falling-fallen-that-s-the-way-the-season-changes-its-tense/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I find great consolation in having a lot of poetry books around. I believe that writing poetry and reading it are deeply intertwined. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-find-great-consolation-in-having-a-lot-of-poetry-books-around-i/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I had feelings that I didn't know what to do with, and I felt better when I started writing them. I thought of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-had-feelings-that-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-and-i-felt-better/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think in terms of educating a group of readers, MFA programs are very good. I just think the model of MFA programs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-think-in-terms-of-educating-a-group-of-readers-mfa-programs-are/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Jonson wrote a poem and called his son His best piece of poetrie A lovely line a little loathsome I loved that poem once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/jonson-wrote-a-poem-and-called-his-son-his-best-piece-of-poetrie-a/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [After my grandfather died I went down to the basement of my family house where my family kept books, anthologies and things and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/after-my-grandfather-died-i-went-down-to-the-basement-of-my-family/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [It does demand a certain space in order to read it and I think that space is somewhat threatened by the lack of attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/it-does-demand-a-certain-space-in-order-to-read-it-and-i-think-that/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [...I put down these memorandums of my affections in honor of tenderness, in honor of all of those who have been conscripted into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-put-down-these-memorandums-of-my-affections-in-honor-of-tenderness/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Poetry is a vocation. It is not a career but a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-is-a-vocation-it-is-not-a-career-but-a-calling/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [You're shadowed by your own dream, especially as you get older, of trying to create something that will last in poetry. And so, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/you-re-shadowed-by-your-own-dream-especially-as-you-get-older-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [The attention deficit disorder of the culture is very distressing in America now and I think it puts a lot of things at risk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-attention-deficit-disorder-of-the-culture-is-very-distressing-in/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Now, as I've gotten older I've been able to write more quickly. Sometimes I get in the space of something and I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/now-as-i-ve-gotten-older-i-ve-been-able-to-write-more-quickly/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Poetry takes courage because you have to face things and you try to articulate how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/poetry-takes-courage-because-you-have-to-face-things-and-you-try-to/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) [Explore all 222 Edward Hirsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) ## More Gertrude quotes > [Age could not wither nor custom stale her infinite monotony: in fact, neither Age nor Custom could do anything (as they said, their voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/age-could-not-wither-nor-custom-stale-her-infinite-monotony-in-fact/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [In the early years of the Roaring Twenties, American women not only won the right to vote but they also earned headlines along side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-de-varona/in-the-early-years-of-the-roaring-twenties-american-women-not-only/) [Donna de Varona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-de-varona/) > [He came after Homer and before Gertrude Stein, a difficult interval for a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/he-came-after-homer-and-before-gertrude-stein-a-difficult-interval/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [It seems all "protection" has to be monitored, considered, weighed and justified - I am suggesting we do that (but it's something Mary Shelley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/it-seems-all-protection-has-to-be-monitored-considered-weighed-and/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Michael Bohn provides a rare opportunity to experience the American sporting scene in the Roaring Twenties. A constant stream of legendary characters marches across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-golenbock/michael-bohn-provides-a-rare-opportunity-to-experience-the-american/) [Peter Golenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-golenbock/) > [There is a trend in child-rearing that I find abhorrent: "Whatever the kids want to do is fine." For me, the classic example of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/there-is-a-trend-in-child-rearing-that-i-find-abhorrent-whatever-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/gertrude-stein-all-courage-and-will-is-a-soldier-of-minimalism-her/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [I murmured to Picasso that I liked his portrait of Gertrude Stein. Yes, he said, everybody said that she does not look like it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-murmured-to-picasso-that-i-liked-his-portrait-of-gertrude-stein-yes/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I wanted to meet other artists. I suppose I simply felt that I was taking pot shots at clay pipes. Pop! Down goes Gertrude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/i-wanted-to-meet-other-artists-i-suppose-i-simply-felt-that-i-was/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [The two greatest mannequins of the century were Gertrude Stein and Edith Sitwell - unquestionably. You just couldn't take a bad picture of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/the-two-greatest-mannequins-of-the-century-were-gertrude-stein-and/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Is the professor who insists we read Ernest Hemingway again instead of Gertrude Stein "obsessing"? Because although I did a BA in English, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/is-the-professor-who-insists-we-read-ernest-hemingway-again-instead/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [Going to bed with Gertrude Stein, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Susan Sontag, or Margaret Thatcher: There are some things one prefers neither to do nor to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/going-to-bed-with-gertrude-stein-jeane-kirkpatrick-susan-sontag-or/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In a notable family called Stein There were Gertrude, and Ep, and then Ein. Gert's writing was hazy, Ep's statues were crazy, And nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/in-a-notable-family-called-stein-there-were-gertrude-and-ep-and-then/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Because anybody can write, but not everybody invents new forms of writing. Gertrude Stein invented a new form of writing and her imitators are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-anybody-can-write-but-not-everybody-invents-new-forms-of/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [ You are all a lost generation. \[with credit to Gertrude Stein\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-are-all-a-lost-generation-with-credit-to-gertrude-stein/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) Browse all 46 Gertrude quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gertrude Stein said, \"I write for myself and strangers.\" I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Hirsch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gertrude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee3/edward-hirsch-1614_gertrude_gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-a_518030.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gertrude Stein said, \"I write for myself and strangers.\" I would say I write for myself, strangers and the…” — Edward Hirsch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Hirsch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gertrude Stein said, \"I write for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```