The most interesting thing said in class this week was, "A trust is a trust is a trust, as Gertrude Stein might have said if she'd thought about it." My ears perk up at any mention of Stein, especially in settings that are mainstream, not poetic, where people are not in the know, whatever the know is that I think I know.

But it is interesting -- when Stein wrote, A rose is a rose is a rose, it was to disassociate the word rose from the referent rose and make a familiar word uncomfortably unfamiliar for its materiality. A trust is a trust is a trust, however, has nothing to do with the word trust and everything to do with the concept of trusts, which are fundamentally the same whether they are personal or business-related, investment vehicles or tax avoidance strategies.

Stein is one of those writers whose profound statements have become very well-known, even though the significance of her insights have not. Too bad people don't randomly quote Tender Buttons. I'd love to hear everyone saying, Single fish single fish single fish eggplant single fish sight. It's pretty catchy once you get it in your head.