IN PRAISE OF THE NATURAL WORLD
“Gerald
Stern’s poems sing in praise of the natural world,” says fellow poet Toi
Derricotte, and while they sing of many other things as well, his attachment
to this planet makes him an ideal celebrant of Earth Day. He was in fact
a participant in the first-ever Earth Day over a third of a century ago.
We are honored to have this esteemed and engaging poet join us as we participate in Live at the Arts Exchange, brought to you by State Senator Nick Spano and the Westchester Arts Council (WAC), and held in WAC’s Grand Banking Room in their home at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.
Stern is the author of fourteen books of poetry, most recently Everything Is Burning (Norton, 2005) and including This Time: New and Selected Poems (Norton), which won the National Book Award in 1998. A collection of personal essays, What I Can’t Bear Losing: Notes From a Life, was published by Norton in 2003.
He has
taught at many universities including the University of Pittsburgh, Columbia,
and (for thirteen years) the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His many awards include
a Guggenheim Fellowship, three NEA Fellowships, the Governor’s Award for
Excellence in the Arts for the State of Pennsylvania, the Lamont Poetry
Prize and the Ruth Lilly Prize from Poetry. Stern is a resident
of Lambertville, New Jersey and was the state’s first Poet Laureate (2000
- 2002). He received the prestigious Wallace Stevens Award for mastery
in the art of poetry in 2005.
photo by Martin J. Desht
Suggested Donation: $5 ($3 for HVWC members and Westchester Arts Council members)
The readings at the HVWC are made possible in part by a grant from the Bydale Foundation; the David G. Taft Foundation; the Orchard Foundation; and the Thendara Foundation; with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and by Westchester Arts Council with funds from Westchester County Government, corporations and individuals.