In last months of reading which I have not been good about listing here, one of the things that has stayed in memory as useful has been Laura Doyle’s reading of race in Stein’s work in “The Flat, the Round and Gertrude Stein: Race and the Shape of Modern(ist) History” Modernism/Modernity 7.2 (2000), 249-271. Mainly because she can negotiate through the trickster, joker part of Stein and yet doesn't let her off. Her argument basically is that Stein is aware that she is engaging racial tropes in her work and yet this awareness doesn't mean she doesn't fall into racism at moments. Something about her giving Stein awareness in her writing of "Melanctha" feels like such a relief.