Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the curator of Dokumenta 13 in 2012, answered the question where she was from by saying “HWGSATQ – How would Gertrude Stein answer that question?” and then explained that she was conceived in Italy, grew up in Richmond and “returned” to Italy later in life. “Heimat ist eine multiple Erfahrung und Simplifizierungen erscheinen wenig nützlich.” (SZ 4 Dec. 2008)
Gertrude Stein found concise words for complicated things:
America is my country and Paris is my hometown.
A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears.
I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. It’s better to be rich.
