Gerald Stern

Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Raritan Valley Community College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. From 2009 until his death, he was a distinguished poet-in-residence and faculty member of Drew University's graduate program for a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in poetry.

Stern was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University and attended the University of Paris for post-graduate study. He received the National Book Award for Poetry in 1998 for This Time: New and Selected Poems and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1991 for Leaving Another Kingdom: Selected Poems. In 2000, Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed him the first Poet Laureate of New Jersey.

Early life Stern was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1925. His parents, Harry and Ida Barach Stern, were Jewish and immigrated to the United States from Ukraine and Poland, respectively, in 1905. They owned several clothing stores and sold other items including cigars. He was initially rejected from military service due to his poor eyesight, but served in the Army Air Forces from 1946 to 1947 after the military re-examined him. He studied at the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1947. Two years later, he obtained a Master of Arts from Columbia University.

Career

After earning his master's degree, Stern relocated to Europe to undertake doctoral studies at the University of Paris. However, he did not finish his degree and spent his twenties traveling between New York City and Europe. It was during this time that he started to write and publish poetry. before briefly working at Pittsburgh (his alma mater) in 1979. and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. and received the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets in 2005. From 2006 on Stern was a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

In addition to the aforementioned academic institutions, Stern also taught at Rutgers University.

Stern died on October 27, 2022, at the Calvary Hospice in New York City. He was 97 years old.

Publications

Honors and awards 1976 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship 1977 Lamont Poetry Selection 1991 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry Finalist 1992 Paterson Poetry Prize 1996 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize 2000–2002 Poet Laureate of New Jersey 2005 Wallace Stevens Award