THIS MUCH I KNOW

This Much I Know is a prose excerpt from Blood on the Dining Room Floor, a novel by Gertrude Stein, the stream-of-conscious poet of the early 20th century. Needless to say, for those familiar with Stein’s work, “blood” may be mentioned once or twice, but the rest of the book, including this excerpt, has nothing to do with the title – no blood, no murder mystery. The only mystery is what Stein meant with her prose.

This Much I Know, commissioned by Anthony and Marjorie Ramirez, was premiered at a concert celebrating the publication of a new edition of Blood on the Dining Room Floor, as well as honoring the long and productive collaboration of Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson. I accompanied the soprano Margaret Ahrens in the song, as well as others by Thomson, Ned Rorem, and David Diamond. Thomson, who was present at the concert, introduced himself to me afterwards. He said that he was stone-deaf, so he couldn’t hear my playing, “but you looked like you knew what you were doing.” One of my best reviews.

Audio

TEXT

THIS MUCH I KNOW THAT WILLING TO SLEEP WILLING to make willing to see water may make a chain may make a lane between which they will not falter. But just when.
As I was saying meadows and grass are often dry in summer and if they are country houses, hotels are inhabited. In which case changes and pleasures are incessant but which makes it a pleasure to dearly love. I know how greatly a pleasure it is to dearly love.