Odd Mercy: Poems

by Gerald Stern

"For over two decades, no one has equaled Stern's compassionate, surreal parables about the burden of and the exaltation at being alive."― Library Journal The centerpiece of Gerald Stern's ninth collection is a long poem titled "Hot Dog," named for a beautiful street woman who lives in and around Tompkins Square Park. Other characters in this poem are St. Augustine, Walt Whitman, Noah, Gerald Stern himself, and a ninety-year-old black preacher from the Midwest. In "Hot Dog," and throughout, Stern wrestles with the issues―hope, memory, faith―that have always occupied him.

Genres: Poetry

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Gerald Stern, the author of seventeen poetry collections, has won the National Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Ruth Lilly Prize, and the Wallace Stevens Award, among others. He lives in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Reviews

[scarlettraces · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Stern's line. I don't know what the correct poetical technical term is (probably should) but line will do, he's a painterly poet anyway.

[Mills College Library]

811.54 S8392o 1995