"Don't worry about your roots so long as you worry about them. The essential thing is to have the feeling that they exist, that they are somewhere . . . To think only of going back for them is to confess that the plant is dying."

After growing up in California, Gertrude moved to Paris in 1903 and remained there for most of her life. She often said "America is my country and Paris is my home town."

Carl Van Vechten | Library of Congress |

As a famous US expat, Gertrude had a complicated relationship with her "roots." Though she lived most of her adult life in Paris, she often wrote about her home country.

BLH Photography | CC BY 2.0 |