Gerald Stern
Encyclopedia
Gerald Stern is an American
poet
. His work became widely recognized after the 1977 publication of Lucky Life, which was that year's Lamont Poetry Selection, and of a series of essays on writing poetry in American Poetry Review. He has subsequently been given many prestigious awards for his writing, including the 1996 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
and a National Book Award
for poetry in 1998 for his book, This Time: New and Selected Poems. He was Poet Laureate of New Jersey
from 2000 to 2002, and received the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets
in 2005. Since 2006, Stern has been a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
Stern has taught at Temple University
and Indiana University of Pennsylvania
. For a number of years prior to achieving fame, he taught at Raritan Valley Community College
. For many years he taught poetry writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
. Stern is former faculty member and co-founder of New England College
's Masters of Fine Arts Program in Poetry. Stern is currently serving as distinguished poet-in-residence at Drew University
's low-residency MFA Program in Poetry beginning January 2009, with Jean Valentine
, the other distinguished poet-in-residence for the program.
Born in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
to Harry and Ida Barach Stern, he was educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
. Stern earned his B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh
in 1947 and an M.A. at Columbia University
in 1949. He did post-graduate study at the University of Paris
in 1949-50. He married Patricia Miller in 1952 (divorced); they have two children: Rachael, a nutrition therapist living in Alabama; and David, an architect living in Massachusetts. Also have 4 grandchildren, Rebecca, Dylan, Julia, and Alana. His companion is poet Anne Marie Macari
, and he lives in Lambertville, New Jersey
.
Chapbooks
Essay Collectins
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. His work became widely recognized after the 1977 publication of Lucky Life, which was that year's Lamont Poetry Selection, and of a series of essays on writing poetry in American Poetry Review. He has subsequently been given many prestigious awards for his writing, including the 1996 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is awarded annually by The Poetry Foundation; the Foundation also publishes Poetry. The Prize was established in 1986 by Ruth Lilly. The prize honors a living U.S. poet whose "lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition"; its value is presently $100,000...
and a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for poetry in 1998 for his book, This Time: New and Selected Poems. He was Poet Laureate of New Jersey
Poet Laureate of New Jersey
The Poet Laureate of New Jersey position was created on October 4, 1999. Gerald Stern was appointed first New Jersey poet laureate on April 17, 2000, by Governor Christie Whitman. The second poet laureate, Amiri Baraka was dismissed after reading his poem "Somebody Blew Up America" at the September...
from 2000 to 2002, and received the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...
in 2005. Since 2006, Stern has been a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
Stern has taught at Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
and Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
. For a number of years prior to achieving fame, he taught at Raritan Valley Community College
Raritan Valley Community College
Raritan Valley Community College is an accredited, coeducational, two-year, public, community college located in North Branch , New Jersey...
. For many years he taught poetry writing at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
. Stern is former faculty member and co-founder of New England College
New England College
New England College is a private four-year college in Henniker, New Hampshire, enrolling a total of approximately 1800 undergraduate and graduate students.-History:The school was created in 1946 for students attending college on the G.I...
's Masters of Fine Arts Program in Poetry. Stern is currently serving as distinguished poet-in-residence at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
's low-residency MFA Program in Poetry beginning January 2009, with Jean Valentine
Jean Valentine
Jean Valentine is an American poet, and currently the New York State Poet . Her poetry collection, Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965–2003, was awarded the 2004 National Book Award for Poetry....
, the other distinguished poet-in-residence for the program.
Born in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Harry and Ida Barach Stern, he was educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools is the public school district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and adjacent Mount Oliver.The combined land area of these municipalities is with a population of 342,503 according to the 2000 census. In August 2005, the superintendent became Mark Roosevelt. His tenure ends...
. Stern earned his B.A. at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in 1947 and an M.A. at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1949. He did post-graduate study at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1949-50. He married Patricia Miller in 1952 (divorced); they have two children: Rachael, a nutrition therapist living in Alabama; and David, an architect living in Massachusetts. Also have 4 grandchildren, Rebecca, Dylan, Julia, and Alana. His companion is poet Anne Marie Macari
Anne Marie Macari
Anne Marie Macari is an American poet. Her most recent book is She Heads Into the Wilderness . Her first book won The APR/Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry...
, and he lives in Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,906.Lambertville was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1849, from portions of West Amwell Township...
.
Published works
Full-Length Poetry Collections- Early Collected Poems, 1965-1992 (New York: W. W. NortonW. W. NortonW. W. Norton & Company is an independent American book publishing company based in New York City. It is well known for its "Norton Anthologies", particularly the Norton Anthology of English Literature and the "Norton Critical Editions" series of texts which are frequently assigned in university...
, 2010) - Save the Last Dance: Poems (New York: W. W. NortonW. W. NortonW. W. Norton & Company is an independent American book publishing company based in New York City. It is well known for its "Norton Anthologies", particularly the Norton Anthology of English Literature and the "Norton Critical Editions" series of texts which are frequently assigned in university...
, 2008) - Everything Is Burning (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005)
- Not God After All (Pittsburgh: Autumn House PressAutumn House PressAutumn House Press is an independent, non-profit literary publishing company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette poetry feature, Bob Hoover writes that "Simms says he started the operation after he noticed that the 'large traditional commercial presses, had...
, 2004) - American Sonnets (New York: W. W. Norton, 2002) (shortlisted for the 2003 International Griffin Poetry PrizeGriffin Poetry PrizeThe Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
) - Last Blue (New York: W. W. Norton, 2000)
- This Time: New and Selected Poems (New York: W. W. Norton, 1998)
- Bread without Sugar (New York: W.W. Norton, 1992)
- Two Long Poems (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University PressCarnegie Mellon University PressCarnegie Mellon University Press is a publisher that is part of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.It is headquartered within the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Baker Hall and specializes in poetry. Gerald Costanzo is the founder and...
, 1990) - Leaving Another Kingdom: Selected Poems (New York: Harper & Row, 1990)
- Lovesick (New York: Perennial Library, 1986)
- Paradise Poems (New York: Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1984) - Odd Mercy (New York: W. W. Norton, 1994)* The Red Coal, poetry, (Boston: Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
, 1981) - Lucky Life (Boston: Houghton MifflinHoughton MifflinHoughton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
, 1977) - Rejoicings: Selected Poems 1966-72 (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1973)
- The Naming of Beasts (Omaha: Cummington Press, 1972)
- Pineys (New Brunswick: Rutgers University PressRutgers University PressRutgers University Press is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in Piscataway, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University.-History:...
, 1971)
Chapbooks
- The Preacher (Sarabande BooksSarabande BooksSarabande Books is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1994, and located in Louisville, Kentucky, publishing poetry, fiction and nonfiction.The press was co-founded by Sarah Gorham and Jeffrey Skinner...
, 2007)
Essay Collectins
- What I Can't Bear Losing (San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 2009)
- What I Can't Bear Losing: Notes from a Life (New York: W.W. Norton, 2004)
- Selected Essays (New York: Harper & Row, 1988)
Honors and awards
- 2005 Wallace Stevens Award
- 2005 National Jewish Book Award in Poetry
- 2000 - 2002 Poet Laureate of New Jersey
- 1998 National Book Award
- 1996 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
- 1992 Paterson Poetry Prize
- 1991 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry Finalist
- 1987 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
- 1982 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
- 1981 Melville Caine Award
- 1980 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1977 Lamont Poetry Selection
- 1976 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
External links
- Author Page: Gerald Stern > W. W. Norton
- Biography: Academy of American Poets > Gerald Stern
- Still Burning - A short documentary film about Gerald Stern
- Griffin Poetry Prize biography
- Audio: Gerald Stern reads three poems from his Early Collected Poems, 1965 - 1992
- Griffin Poetry Prize reading, including video clip
- Poems & Bio: Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts > Gerald Stern Feature
- Interview: The Jewish Week > May 13, 2009 > Late-Blooming Poet by Eric Herschthal
- Poem: A Little Poetry > Featured Poet: Grapefruit by Gerald Stern
- http://www.identitytheory.com/nonfiction/bauman_father.phpAbout Gerald Stern: IdentityTheory.com > February 2009 > Our Father > An essay by Christian Bauman that closes with thoughts on Gerald Stern's poem "Dancing" and provides behind-the-scenes views of Bauman's relationships with Stern and author Chris HedgesChris HedgesChristopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies...
and of the writing of Hedges's "What Every Person Should Know About War"] - Poems: german / english in poetenladen (poetshop)