Volume 71, Issue 4 - 10/01/99 Renowned Poet Gerald Stern is Welcomed by Enthusiastic Audience
by Renee Paquin
The antics of Hurricane Floyd did not keep renowned poet Gerald Stern away from Washington College for long. Originally scheduled to read his work on Thursday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr room, the poet postponed his trip in the face of threatening weather. Stern instead visited the campus Tuesday, September 28 - same time, same place. The last minute change in agenda did little to hinder the enthusiasm of the poets audience. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Stern considers himself an urban poet. He has taught at Temple University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Iowa. His first book of poems, Pineys, appeared in 1971. Stern has since written twelve more books of poems, including his most recent, This Time: New and Selected Poems . The poet is due to have another book published in March of 2000, entitled Last Blue. Stern is the recipient of many literary awards, including the American Poetry Review Award and the Melville Caine Award from the Poetry Society of America. His work has appeared in such periodicals as the New Yorker, the Nation, and the Paris Review. Professor Robert Mooney gave a brief introduction of the poet, stating that, "What makes Gerry Sterns poetry so unique is the way in which it rides on an exuberance that is forgetful of suffering." Stern then led into his discussion by quoting T.S. Eliot, stating that he would only talk for 45 or 50 minutes "because mankind cannot bear too much reality." | |
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