Odd Mercy
Published on 17. June 1997
128 pages
978-0-393-24752-7 (ISBN)
Description
"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.More details
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Gerald Stern (1925?2022), the author of nineteen volumes of poetry, was awarded the National Book Award, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Wallace Stevens Award, among many other honors.
