---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold…"
description: "\"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.\" — Wyndham Lewis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png"
---

#  Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold, black suet-pudding……

![“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.” quote by Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png)

> “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.”

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Stein’s prose‑song is described as a dense, uniform mass lacking vitality, suggesting that form without feeling is empty.

**In simple terms:** Form without feeling is empty.

Key Takeaway

Seek depth and emotion in creative work.

Themes

art literature creativity form emotion

Mood

analytical critical thoughtful

Type

literary critical

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- art criticism
- creative projects
- teaching literature

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory literary criticism modernism

Questions to Reflect On

- How does structure serve meaning?
- Can uniformity ever be purposeful?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may be too harsh, dismissing value in structural experimentation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/)

## 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/)

> [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 said, "I write for myself and strangers." I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/gertrude-stein-said-i-write-for-myself-and-strangers-i-would-say-i/)

[Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/)

> [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 Wyndham Lewis

> [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Prostration is our natural position. A worm-like movement from a spot of sunlight to a spot of shade, and back, is the type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/prostration-is-our-natural-position-a-worm-like-movement-from-a-spot/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Prostration is our natural position. A wormlike movement from a spot of sunlight to a spot of shade, and back, is the type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/prostration-is-our-natural-position-a-wormlike-movement-from-a-spot/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Life is art's rival and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/life-is-art-s-rival-and-vice-versa/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-around-looking-for-a-root-i/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Elephants are VERY BIG. Motor cars go quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/elephants-are-very-big-motor-cars-go-quickly/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [All orthodox opinion - that is, today, "revolutionary" opinion either of the pure or the impure variety - is anti-man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/all-orthodox-opinion-that-is-today-revolutionary-opinion-either-of/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [The ideas of a time are like the clothes of a season: they are as arbitrary, as much imposed by some superior will which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/the-ideas-of-a-time-are-like-the-clothes-of-a-season-they-are-as/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Laughter is the representative of Tragedy, when Tragedy is away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/laughter-is-the-representative-of-tragedy-when-tragedy-is-away/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [With most people, not describable as artists, all the finer part of their vitality goes into sex. They become third-rate poets during their courtship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/with-most-people-not-describable-as-artists-all-the-finer-part-of/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Spain is an overflow of sombreness . . . a strong and threatening tide of history meets you at the frontier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/spain-is-an-overflow-of-sombreness-a-strong-and-threatening-tide-of/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [For the first rate poet, nothing short of a Queen or a Chimera is adequate for the powers of his praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/for-the-first-rate-poet-nothing-short-of-a-queen-or-a-chimera-is/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Sex is of the same clay as Time! -- of the same clay Since both are in their essence but One-Way Time is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/sex-is-of-the-same-clay-as-time-of-the-same-clay-since-both-are-in/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [When we say 'science' we can either mean any manipulation of the inventive and organizing power of the human intellect: or we can mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/when-we-say-science-we-can-either-mean-any-manipulation-of-the/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [No American worth his salt should go looking around for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-looking-around-for-a-root-i/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

[Explore all 87 Wyndham Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

## More Black quotes

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/)

[Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/)

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/)

Frank B. Wilderson III

> [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/)

[Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/)

> [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/)

[R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/)

> [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

Browse all 11,655 Black quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "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.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Wyndham Lewis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-black-suet-pudding-cut-it-at/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Black"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-black-suet-pudding-cut-it-at/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/wyndham-lewis-7767_black_gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-bl_1642985.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold, black suet-pudding… Cut it at any point, it is the same thing ... all…” — Wyndham Lewis",
                "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": "Wyndham Lewis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Gertrude Stein's prose-song is a cold,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-black-suet-pudding-cut-it-at/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/gertrude-stein-s-prose-song-is-a-cold-black-suet-pudding-cut-it-at/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
