3 Must-Read Gerald Stern Poems

Gerald Stern was a poetic voice of the wilderness, merging his Eastern European Jewish heritage with American themes. His work, known for emotional depth and cultural critique, made significant contributions to American poetry and teaching.

Biography Quotes

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotion:

Topics:

Forms:

"> 95/100

Behaving Like a Jew

‘Behaving Like a Jew’ by Gerald Stern is a lyric poem with elements of an elegy. It includes poet’s understanding of how suffering and death should be approached.

This is an interesting and compelling Gerald Stern poem that should be considered among his best examples of verse. It speaks on themes that many different readers will relate to in an interesting and unexpected way. The poem discusses what it means to be Jewish in the contemporary world and how strongly the speaker feels about unnecessary death.

When I got there the dead opossum looked like

an enormous baby sleeping on the road.

It took me only a few seconds—just

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

"> 90/100

Another Insane Devotion

‘Another Insane Devotion’ by Gerald Stern is about a man reflecting on his life experiences. His memories, while not always easily understood, help him see the value of the choices he has made.

This is a well-known poem by Gerald Stern. Stern was a prolific American poet who received significant critical acclaim in his lifetime. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1991. This poem is emblematic of Stern's unique style.

This was gruesome—fighting over a ham sandwich

with one of the tiny cats of Rome, he leaped

on my arm and half hung on to the food and half

hung on to my shirt and coat.

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

Genres:

"> 84/100

The Dancing

‘The Dancing’ by Gerald Stern is an emotionally complex poem that wrestles with feelings of joy and bittersweetness inspired by a fond memory.

Appearing in Stern’s National Book Award-winning collection This Time: New and Selected Poems, ‘The Dancing’ is a deeply personal piece right from the writer's heart. The poet, from the first-person perspective, details one incident in which he and his parents danced together celebrating the end of the Second World War. What is more important, this piece encapsulates elements from the poet’s youth—the years that had a lasting impact on his poetry.

the three of us whirling and singing, the three of us

screaming and falling, as if we were dying,

as if we could never stop—in 1945 —

in Pittsburgh, beautiful filthy Pittsburgh

Home » Poets » Gerald Stern Poems

General

Poetry+

Discover

Useful Links

3 Must-Read Gerald Stern Poems

Behaving Like a Jew

Another Insane Devotion

The Dancing

Narrow Your Search

We Look Deep into Poetry

General

Poetry+

Discover

Useful Links