Product Description
“Stern’s unadorned craftsmanship has few rivals in American letters.”—Philadelphia InquirerEarly Collected Poems gathers the poems from the first six books of Gerald Stern’s body of work. A master poet, Stern has sought new language for the overlooked, neglected, and unseen facets of human experience. Whether writing about modern poets, Hebrew prophets, death, war, or love, “Stern’s literary songs are sharp, surprising, and unerring in their delivery” (Ploughshares, Editor’s Choice).

from “The Red Coal”
   The coal has taken over, the red coal

   is burning between us and we are at its mercy—
   as if a power is finally dominating
   the two of us; as if we’re huddled up

   watching the black smoke and the ashes;
   as if knowledge is what we needed and now
   we have that knowledge. Now we have that knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
An exhilarating new collection by the poet often acclaimed as the modern Walt Whitman, his "spiritual reincarnation."Amazon.com Review
Gerald Stern is often compared to Walt Whitman, and his verse does possess a similar oracular urgency. Yet his lines are shorter and more digestibleto the modern ear, and his emotional sensibility is more likely to searchfor analogies in wildlife--maple trees and blue jays in Iowa backyards,spiders on New Jersey bridges--than in Whitman's worlds of labor and war.

Stern was 48 years old when his first collection, Rejoicings,appeared in 1973.A quarter century later, he has selected his finest workfor This Time. Immediately one notices a consistency of style andconcern. Indeed, one of his earliest poems, "When I Have Reached the Pointof Suffocation," foreshadows his major themes of desolation and survival:

It takes years to learn how to look at the destruction
of beautiful things;

to learn how to leave the place
of oppression;

and how to make your own regeneration
out of nothing.

Customer Reviews (4)

Hugging Gerald Stern!!
Gerald Stern just sweeps me away into his own world when I open to any page of this wonderful collection of poetry in "This Time; New and Selected Poems".If his work is new to you or you are a returning fan you will be profoundly rewarded by his powerful and haunting writing that takes you from his backyard then out everywhere into his great, wide world.His language ranges from the mystical to the perfectly frank whether set in the convoluted world of man or in the sacred space of his garden.He reaches inward and outward, he digs, he towers then reclines.He Shines!
Mr. Stern is richly deserving of all of the rewards he has received and so much more.A great American voice!

ThisIS His Time
Gerald Stern's book of poems demonstrates it IS his time. The selected poems cover Stern's past up to present, suspending images and thought, passing a range of emotions that then rise from within the reader. I have read and continue to re-read this collection, hear G.S.'s matter-of-fact voice lifting from pages, see his impressions as clearly as if I were seeing them with my own eyes. This is a book I take along on trips or vacations or sudden moves. If you know Gerald Stern, you'll love THIS TIME; if you don't know Stern, you'll love him before finishing only five of his poems. Lovely, lovely... and thought provoking.

Mundane into Magnificence
Reading a Gerald Stern poem is hitching a ride on a boomerang built with words. One is going to be taken on an exhilarating emotional ride through space and then returned gently to earth not quite the same person. Many compare Stern to Whitman because of hishumanity which makes his work accessible and memorable. He is a magician who turns themundane into magnificence by writing with his whole being. A master poet who doesn't tell about experiences, rather, he shares them with his readers. Keep this book by the bedtable and dream along with these poems.

An exquisitecollection of in-depth poetry
Gerald Stern is a renowned Pennsylvania author having received the following awards: Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Lamont Poetry Prize, grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, grants from theNational Endowment for the Arts, the best poem award from the AmericanPoetry Review in 1996, and a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. His works are symbolistic, and to truly understand a poem, one may have toread it at least three times.Titles such as "Orange Roses,""I Remember Galileo," "The Unity," "YourAnimal," "Shad," "Eggshell," "All I Have Arethe Tracks," "A Song for the Romeos," and "SilverHand" are just a few of this extensive aggregation that mystifies andcreates a sensational experience for the mind.I highly recommend thisbook to anyone who is searching for true poetry, poetry that touches theheart, poetry that creates an impact on the way you look at the worldaround you. ... Read more

Product Description
"Ruthless and occasionally outrageous, Stern's literary songs are sharp, surprising, and unerring in their delivery."—Ploughshares, Editor's ChoiceGerald Stern calls upon his own life as a groundfor his poems. Showing a horror of lies,treachery, and war, he offers redemption through stark language and plain speech. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Stern Vision: A Tree of Hemingway, Yeats, Proust
Stern Vision: A Tree of Hemingway, Yeats, Proust

Gerald Stern's new book, Everything Is Burning, is deft, profound, and perhaps the most enjoyable volume of poems composed in English in decades. It is its own masterwork, combining eight decades of Stern's life with his rollicking roving, greedy reading, and hilarious wisdom. He steals from all he is, which includes a Hemingway eye for exact detail and rich simplicity, Yeats's flow and incantation, and Proust's savage memory that makes a daguerreotype of each significant face, trait, and event. This erudite humanist makes you laugh at clumsy ethnicities, cry with compassionfor a dead child sister, and wonder before a lily of the field near a Pocano traffic jam where a former wild student suddenly materializes standing on the highway. Elegant surprise follows elegant surprise. He is shock and paradox.

A relentless moralist, the outrageously observant Stern is incapable of sternness and an enemy of pomp. When everything is burning, he's there, maybe holding a fedora, taking poetic notes, yet also in the mix to participate and feel. He has lived. And that means with Felonious Monk, cat piss in the South Bronx; recording the horror of war camps or sitting alien on a steel railroad track, eating a sandwich.Before his appetite for the fascinating ordinary, lowdown and sordid, the rapturous Mahler, Ecclesiastes and a burned lilac, you must not skip a word, much less a poem, in this beautiful gathering. He takes you to his abode in "Hemingway's House":

I don't want to go to Hemingway's house,
let him come to mine, walk in and we'll do
The Killers at my kitchen table, he with his
back to the Japanese maple, me with my back
to the Maytag, ginger ale for one, white rum
the other; the dragon and the mayfly, death and the
knowledge of death,
Monk and Bartók all the same to me.

I often wonder what makes Jerry run. Of course he has lust in his lungs, and his poetry breathes each year in new ways. Many of our best poets----Eliot, Cummings, Auden, Wordsworth---bloom, mature in their powers, and, alas, wither, becoming a mannerism of earlier word and spirit. Others---Rilke, Yeats, Stevens, or short-lived Wilfred Owen and Hart Crane--- dramatically gain strength. Stern grows. Like his contemporaries Ruth Stone and Stanley Moss, he reveals a cumulatively significant voice, which years magnify. But he remains the child man in his renewals. The vision, lust, and ethics have their unifying center in a bizarre passion, a passion that prevails whether he is out organizing unions, teaching, reading, giving readings, writing books. In those books, memoir, play, essay and poetry, Stern resorts to a spontaneous trickery and wins.

With respect to poetic means, in the Eliot and James Wright tradition Gerald Stern sticks primarily to the line, to an enjambed line that stands alone and sparkles, whether with glass, trash, and even when he writes about a fisherman's worm in a can. Somehow the worms end up like stubby fingers in freezing sun-glare. He doesn't scatter his word pictures on the page. A lyrical blank verse determines prosody, and each word counts in lines that follow with compelling speed and rhythm. This perfection of spontaneity creates belief. Consider his poignant poem "Sylvia" in which he moves from existential speculation to a re collection of his older sister in 1933, a year older than himself, who is dead at nine:

Across a space peopled with stars I am
laughing while my sides ache for existence
it turns out is profound though the profound
because of time it turns out is an illusion
and all of this is infinitely improbable
given the space, for which I gratefully lie
in three feet of snow making a shallow grave
I would have called an angel otherwise and
think of my own rapturous escape from
living only as dust and dirt, little sister.

In an age of extreme commercial and political conformity, of stifling trash culture that holds dominion in the media, the poet is in need. But even among poets---and there are so many fine poets today---there is also classroom conformity, no matter what the pronouncements. Stern belongs to no sect and no one. But then he is with Walt and Emily, with Baudelaire and his prostitutes and blind, with Vladimir Mayakovsky ranting on Brooklyn Bridge, with his grandfather's stick in a Pittsburgh shtetl or the French surrealist Desnos walking among corpses in Buchenwald a few days from his liberation and death from typhus. Stern is the unparalleled voice of injustice, comedy, and survival.

Some years ago Gerald Stern told me that he got a friend to distract the guard in Walt Whitman's house in Camden, New Jersey, so that he could lie down for some minutes in the Quaker poet's bed. I haven't heard the story yet, but I know that in some flower bed in Amherst outside the old Dickinson mansion, there are still night footprints of this wanderer, who, in homage to another deep love, has examined the great shy genius's taste in hyacinths, begonias and hydrangeas. Is he for real? More real and revealing than any of us. Comic, tragic or more often a sly commingling of circumstance and emotion, the universal Stern in Everything is Burning is a treat for reader and re-reader. He is a sheaf of postage stamps with diverse political mugs, lovers, geographies, and nocturnal flower beds that flash the biblical grin of Jerry Stern.
Willis Barnstone ... Read more

Product Description
The fifteenth collection by a celebrated poet whose “terrific, boisterous energy has never flagged” (Megan Harlan, San Francisco Chronicle).In Save the Last Dance, Gerald Stern gives us a stunning collection of his intimately personal—yet always universal, and always surprising—poems, rich with humor and insight. Shorter lyric poems in the first two parts continue the satirical and often redemptive vision of his last collection, Everything Is Burning, while never failing to carve out new emotional territory. In the third part, a long poem called "The Preacher," Stern takes the book of Ecclesiastes as a starting point for a meditation on loss, futility, and emptiness, represented here by the concept of a "hole" that resurfaces throughout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another great book from Stern
Jerry Stern has been writing poems for over 40 years and is recognized as one of the country's best.This collection continues his stellar path.I had the honor of knowing him in the mid-60's when he taught at a small college in Western Pa. I highly recommend his books to anyone who likes humor, pathos and something that makes you think twice, because he makes you do that in his work. ... Read more

Product Description
On March 9, 1976, a violent explosion, fueled by high concentrations of methane gas and coal dust, ripped through the Scotia mine in the heart of Eastern Kentucky coal country. The blast killed fifteen miners who were working nearly three and a half miles underground; two days later, a second explosion took the lives of eleven rescue workers. For the miners’ surviving family members, the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons was only the beginning of their nightmare.

In The Scotia Widows, Gerald M. Stern, the groundbreaking litigator and acclaimed author of The Buffalo Creek Disaster, recounts the epic four-year legal struggle waged by the widows in the aftermath of the disaster. Stern shares a story of loss, scandal, and perseverance–and the plaintiffs’ fight for justice against the titanic forces of “Big Daddy Coal.”

Confronted at nearly every turn by a hostile judge and the scorched-earth defense of the Scotia mine’s owners, family members also withstood the opprobrium of some of their neighbors, most of whom relied on coal mining for their livelihoods. Meanwhile, Stern, representing the widows of the disaster on contingency, amassed huge bills and encountered a litany of formidable obstacles. The Eastern Kentucky trial judge withheld disclosure of his own personal financial interest in coal mining, and a popular pro-coal former Kentucky governor served as the lead defense counsel. The judge also suppressed as evidence the federal mine study that pointed to numerous safety violations at the Scotia mine: In a rush to produce more coal, necessary ventilation had been short-circuited, miners had not been trained in the use of self-rescue equipment, and ventilation inspections had not been made. Moreover, Scotia did not even have a trained rescue team. Ultimately, the Scotia widows’ ordeal helped to inspire the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which changed safety regulations for coal mines throughout the country.

The Scotia Widows portrays in gripping detail young women deciding to pursue a landmark legal campaign against powerful corporate interests and the judge who protected them. It is a critically important and timeless story of ordinary people who took a stand and refused to give up hope for justice.

Praise for The Scotia Widows:

“This is a very scary story, a guided tour of the grinding cogs and spinning wheels inside the machinery of justice. Gerald Stern’s compassionate account of the ordeal of the Scotia widows shows you how horribly out of kilter it can all get when greed and self-interest are at the controls. Only with luck and the expertise of Stern does justice emerge in the end, a bit tarnished but still intact.”
–Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Sad Story
The story is indeed sad, however I primarily prefer reading non-fiction and memoirs because of the reality of the situation.Escapism through books is a delight, but I think it keeps me grounded and constantly offers a reality check to read of others lives and hardships.This story in particular inspires me to keep working at the things that are important to me, despite the obstacles and difficult times.The book was short and at times the wording could be confusing - but I'm guessing that is due to the author being a lawyer and using legal speak.I was not alive when this happened, but the book caught my attention especially with the recent mine collapse in Chile.I can't even comprehend why work environments have improved much since 1976 that things like that are still happening. I recommend reading this book - I read it in a couple hours - it is inspiring.

coal miner widows
My father was a coal miner and that is what encouraged me to read this book.Sad and a fair read.

"Higher Production- Lower Costs."

The Scotia Widows is a tale of courage in the face of crippling grief, an American tragedy oft repeated in the dangerous jobs of men who daily descend into the earth to provide for their families, high-risk employment to be sure. Miner's families harbor no illusions, but they have every right to expect decent, safe work conditions. This small, powerful book describes the events of March 9, 1976, when fifteen miners are killed in the Scotia Mines in Eastern Kentucky, three and a half miles beneath the surface; two days later, eleven rescue workers are lost in a second explosion. The first explosion, caused by a high concentration of methane gas and coal dust, puts a violent end to the plans of fifteen families, a painful example of the volatility of their environment. And the company bears the burden of this outrage, for specific safety violations, inadequate ventilation, a lack of ventilation inspections and no trained rescue workers on the scene. The question is: will "Big Daddy Coal" accept responsibility or hide behind the warren-like hallways of the legal system.

Stern, a trial attorney with intimate knowledge of such cases, the common man pitted against the intractable juggernaut of wealth and power, goes directly to the heart of the matter, the widows. It is through their stories that the public can identify with the enormity of their loss and the long, brutal path to justice that makes close friends of former strangers united in common cause. Challenging the industry is an enormous task and the Scotia widows and their determined attorney face four years of litigation and tremendous legal hurdles, a hostile judge, the determination of the mine owners, a critical lack of disclosure by a trial judge, a pro-coal lead defense counsel and a bevy of expensive attorneys with limitless pocketbooks. Depending on their legal representation to navigate this treacherous landscape, it is the widows who refuse to back down in spite of setbacks and daunting odds. One result: the landmark Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1976.

It is to Stern's credit that he not only achieves a settlement for the original fifteen widows, but also for a number of the families who lost loved ones in the second explosion that took the lives of rescue workers. Yet, years later, there are more such outrageous accidents in Utah and Kentucky, proving that in spite of progress, this is an industry that flaunts safety for profit, the vast wealth of owners insulating them from worker's demands until such disasters once more claim the imagination of the nation. With this book as testament, the widow's cause is deeply personal, but also transcendent in the battle on behalf of the individual, the widows reclaiming their right to the American dream. Luan Gaines/2008.

A short book that packs a punch

In this era when too many people -- especially young people -- disdain the thought of going into law, I can envision students reading this small (145 pages) but mighty book and saying, "I want to be a lawyer!" The story of these women, and their David vs. Goliath battle, deserves to be told around campfires -- and made into a movie. ... Read more

Product Description
In his thirteenth collection, the 1998 National Book Award winner presents us with fifty-nine "Stern Sonnets," of twenty or so lines rather than the traditional fourteen. Using the events of his life as starting points, Gerald Stern deals with time and loss, with the dichotomy of light and darkness, and—always—with the possibility of joy. This stunning collection moves from autobiography to the visionary in surges of memory and language that draw the reader from one poem to the next. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Gem
This book is a great find.I read a lot of poetry and am often disappointed.But this book is a real gem -- not a cut and polished diamond with a cold shine, but a more organic beauty, like pearl or amber or raw emerald.

These poems are accessible while at the same time retaining a wonder at the mystery of life.The size of each poem is just right -- about twenty lines or so, and each poem is about the length of one whole utterance or train of thought.I really love that I can hear a real, distinctive human voice in these poems, and not the flatness and lack of emotion you get in a lot of poetry these days, especially if it is written by younger people.Mr. Stern has a wealth of experience, a great memory and imagination, lots of empathy, and an interesting way of saying things.He has used these talents to give us poems that are not simply poems, but experiences.

Go Gerry
As a former student of Dr Sterns (way back in the 70's) this book brings back many of my own memories.As Dr. Stern grew up in the coal fields of Pa, the references strike me very deeply as I remember the same things he is writing about. His humor continues to be jacketed in serious thoughts, but just as in class, his brillance shines thur.

An American Master!
This book, from my understanding, is Mr. Stern's first book afterhis New and Selected Poems, which won the American Book Award. He is an American Master! My wife, who studied under him at the University of Iowa, has been a die-hard fan all her adlut life. Mr. Stern's tough look at the world and soft touch to the heart has won me, a scientist who believes not all things can me explained, over too. ... Read more

Product Description
An anthology of poetry containing the work of 125 noted American poets evokes the nightspots, hotels, bars, greasy spoons, and similar refuges from the demands of daily life and the feelings, thoughts, and sensations they bring out in us. Original. IP. Amazon.com Review
Get ready to hang out! This unique anthology of poems takesyou to the hot and not-so-hot spots of American nightlife, and what anight out it is! The collection showcases 125 notable contemporarypoets, including RaymondCarver, GalwayKinnell, SusanMitchell, JoyHarjo, and many more. From hamburger hells to heavenly hotels,weary waitresses to blurry bar hounds, Night Out contains thedreams and nightmares of those who find themselves in a very realtwilight zone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gritty and Real
The title of the anthology is what initially captured my attention. Although the theme may not be typical of an anthology, the poetry is wonderful. Yet, what I loved the most about this collection is the way eachpoem reflects a moment whether self-reflective, angry, or lonely clearlyand succinctly without any exaggerations. I definitely suggest this book tothose who like poetry that is beautiful through its honesty and simplicity. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An enlightening and scholarly read
One of the most celebrated pens in America, Gerald Stern has much on his mind. "What I Can't Bear Losing" is a collection of wise essays from Gerald Stern, with a large assortment of essays reflecting on his long and experienced life, on everything from his family and his faith to romance and his encounters with other notable figures of the twentieth century. "What I Can't Bear Losing" is an enlightening and scholarly read. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 1982, there have been radical changes in our understanding of Parkinson's disease, its treatment, and in social attitudes towards the condition.This new edition discusses these changes, presenting revised and updated information in answer to questions commonly asked by both patients and their families.It covers the history of the illness, the evolution of medical knowledge, the signs and symptoms of the disease, and how it is treated, including such radical new therapies as brain implants. The book also offers practical advice on living with Parkinsonism.It is the only such book to be written at a level easily accessible to nonspecialists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

ThelastDodo.
This Book is about a king who lives in a castle. He has a baker called Adrian.The King always eats eggs. Adrian makes the king chicken eggs,goose eggs,duck eggs.Then he shouts More More More! The Next day he read in hisNewspaper that a dodos egg was spotted on an island.So he told Adrian toprepare the boat.To get to The island. ... Read more

Product Description
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 issueshope, memory, faiththat have always occupied him. Sharing with a John Ashbery poem, "Hot Dog" received the 1996 best poem award from The American Poetry Review. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
This Lamont Prize-winning book offers all the joy, sadness, humor, beauty, and song that typically characterizes the work of the well-respected but unfortunately lesser-known American poet Gerald Stern. Stern, who has been writing since the 1960s, made a name for himself in 1977 with the publication of Lucky Life, now his most renowned collection.

In Lucky Life Stern takes the reader on a journey, pausing everywhere from the streets of New York to post-Holocaust Germany to the soil of a lobelia plant. In an intimate and mature voice, he shares with us the lineage of his ancestors; his personal relationships; and bits of art, music, history--even the neighbors he chats with on the beach. His style is Whitmanesque, urging us to "listen a little for the spongy world" after it has rained, and reminding us how to "understand the power of maples."

Reading Stern's poetry is like listening to the words of a loving grandparent who has been through his or her share of painful experiences but has come to terms with them through wisdom gained from a long life. Stern offers several reasons for surviving in this often senseless world, but one of the most outstanding is found in the title poem: "Lucky you can be purified over and over again. / Lucky there is the same cleanliness for everyone." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Humanism and Luck
I have always been impressed with poets who are not only good and prolificat what they do, but also attempt a greater project--an idea of moresignificant proportions than can be encompassed in a single poem, or evenin a small group of poems; one that perhaps requires and entire volume ofpoetry to fulfill, and a lifetime of writing to reach and understand.Manypoets have strived beyond the limits of simple poetry--beyond thepossibilities of a single poem, or even a body of poems--to create a poetrythat is fundamentally important; that is more deeply searching andinterrogating than is asked, or even expected, of a fine or prodigiouspoet.Such poets have a project, whether discreet and subtle, orthunderingly apparent.In the twentieth century, we may look at EzraPound's "Cantos" as an example, or John Berryman's "DreamSongs" an another, and perhaps more ambitiously, Charles Olson's"Maximus Poems", as examples.

With his first majorpublication, "Lucky Life", Gerald Stern was beginning on a courseof intense exploration, and interrogation, of the Self caste into theworld.Perhaps it is Gerald Stern's project to create a poetry with a newlanguage of feeling and thinking, and which gives new meaning to thelanguage we already possess.His poems, while filled with a language ofgrief and sadness, also point to the inevitable possibility of joy and hopewithin human experience.In one line, Stern's poetry permits theexpression of both total loss and complete redemption, almostsimultaneously.His poetry is complex, but direct, never confusing theissues at stake in the poem.The personae he uses in his poems are not ofkey issue--nor is the Self of the poet--but rather, the larger issues whichthey point to.When present in a poem, Stern uses himself almost as alaunching pad into the world around him.

There are many gods in Stern'spoetry; gods who often caste long shadows over the characters that peopleStern's poems.Yet, in the midst of crisis, Stern's characters seem tofind a way out from under the shadow, and embrace the pure luck of beingalive in the first place.Stern's recognizable voice unites the poems inevery book from "Lucky Life" to 1997's "This Time", hiscollection of new and selected poems.Stern's project is one of modernhumanism, an attempt to recover the self from often senseless damage of theworld, while at the same reveling, wide-eyed, in all its beauty and magic. His poetry presents a formadible belief in the ability of human beings tocleanse themselves, and all the lovely possibilities for redemption andreconciliation.With "Lucky Life", Stern began a new poetry witha contemporary consciousness.His humanism does not deny God, anyone ofthem--though his, the poet's, is the God of the Jews--but permits aremarkable search for faith and God in all the wonders of humanity, bothterrible and beautiful.Of course, there is often failure, but sometimeswe get lucky

Humanism and Luck
I have always been impressed with poets who are not only good and prolificat what they do, but also attempt a greater project--an idea of moresignificant proportions than can be encompassed in a single poem, or evenin a small group of poems; one that perhaps requires and entire volume ofpoetry to fulfill, and a lifetime of writing to reach and understand.Manypoets have strived beyond the limits of simple poetry--beyond thepossibilities of a single poem, or even a body of poems--to create a poetrythat is fundamentally important; that is more deeply searching andinterrogating than is asked, or even expected, of a fine or prodigiouspoet.Such poets have a project, whether discreet and subtle, orthunderingly apparent.In the twentieth century, we may look at EzraPound's "Cantos" as an example, or John Berryman's "DreamSongs" an another, and perhaps more ambitiously, Charles Olson's"Maximus Poems", as examples.

With his first majorpublication, "Lucky Life", Gerald Stern was beginning on a courseof intense exploration, and interrogation, of the Self caste into theworld.Perhaps it is Gerald Stern's project to create a poetry with a newlanguage of feeling and thinking, and which gives new meaning to thelanguage we already possess.His poems, while filled with a language ofgrief and sadness, also point to the inevitable possibility of joy and hopewithin human experience.In one line, Stern's poetry permits theexpression of both total loss and complete redemption, almostsimultaneously.His poetry is complex, but direct, never confusing theissues at stake in the poem.The personae he uses in his poems are not ofkey issue--nor is the Self of the poet--but rather, the larger issues whichthey point to.When present in a poem, Stern uses himself almost as alaunching pad into the world around him.

There are many gods in Stern'spoetry; gods who often caste long shadows over the characters that peopleStern's poems.Yet, in the midst of crisis, Stern's characters seem tofind a way out from under the shadow, and embrace the pure luck of beingalive in the first place.Stern's recognizable voice unites the poems inevery book from "Lucky Life" to 1997's "This Time", hiscollection of new and selected poems.Stern's project is one of modernhumanism, an attempt to recover the self from often senseless damage of theworld, while at the same reveling, wide-eyed, in all its beauty and magic. His poetry presents a formadible belief in the ability of human beings tocleanse themselves, and all the lovely possibilities for redemption andreconciliation.With "Lucky Life", Stern began a new poetry witha contemporary consciousness.His humanism does not deny God, anyone ofthem--though his, the poet's, is the God of the Jews--but permits aremarkable search for faith and God in all the wonders of humanity, bothterrible and beautiful.Of course, there is often failure, but sometimeswe get lucky

Excellent, inspiration for fabric artists thru doll makers
This book will appeal to and inspire anyone who loves sewingand creating with fabrics eg: fabric artists, sewers, quilters, dollmakers, toy makers, etc; although its probabley not for those who tend towards more traditional work.

When I first read this book in the early 1990's I was astounded to discover it had been published in 1978. (Where had I been?)Years ahead of its time, this book introduces the reader to numerous techniques available to those dabbling in "stuffed work".

STUFFEDWORK ??!... well its a good general description for the variety of subjects dealt with in this book in relation to making 3 dimensional fabric "objects".There are brief, but consise chapters on tapunto, quilting, pattern making for various shapes along with a pattern library, cloth doll face and body needle sculpture, etc - get the drift?

Although not in its own special chapter there is a s such a "gallery" of various 1970's artists work scattered through the pages.American fabric artists would probabley be familiar with the cloth fire hydrant and the huge cloth slice of chocolate cake!The work is truly inspirational with the only disappointment being that many of the photo are only black and white.

The only other book I've enjoyed as much in recent years is Ellen Rixfords "3 Dimensional Illustration", which deals only partly with fabric art. ... Read more

Product Description
One Saturday morning in February 1972, an impoundment dam owned by the Pittston Coal Company burst, sending a 130 million gallon, 25 foot tidal wave of water, sludge, and debris crashing into southern West Virginia's Buffalo Creek hollow. It was one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history. 125 people were killed instantly, more than 1,000 were injured, and over 4,000 were suddenly homeless. Instead of accepting the small settlements offered by the coal company's insurance offices, a few hundred of the survivors banded together to sue. This is the story of their triumph over incredible odds and corporate irresponsibility, as told by Gerald M. Stern, who as a young lawyer and took on the case and won. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Excellent cross-cultural guide to populist lawyering & civ pro
Stern comes from such a different background than the people he has decided to fight for, but he bridges that gap gradually but skillfully, and it's very interesting to watch that process. Obviously this is also an excellent example of fighting for your clients through civil procedure, that's why civ pro profs often assign it. And, as others have mentioned, Stern gives due respect to the native West Virginian defense lawyer and his skills, which derive in part from being so knowledgeable of the local culture and political scene.

If lawsuits were more like this one
I bought this book for my lawyers' book club.It's a great tale of the little guy beating the big, bad corporation.Too bad most lawsuits are not like this.The little guy's law firm let him devote a year to working on this case and that does not usually happen in real life.

Factual account of this disaster
Very factual detailed account of the events that took place during the preparation of the lawsuit as written by the lead attorney.

Must Read!!!!!
This book is awesome, a must read for anyone who is thinking about becoming a lawyer.Even if you are not sure about being a lawyer, but wish to know a little more about how understanding our legal system can keep you from being taken advantage of in wake of any type of disaster.I had to read it for class, and I am glad that I did.Paralegals can benefit from this book as well; as most of the researching of case law is conducted by paralegals. You get a sense of what to look for in your research.I cannot get enough of this book.

The Case of the Defective Dam
Gerald M. Stern was a partner of a Washington DC law firm and the lead counsel for the survivors of the Buffalo Creek disaster. A massive coal-waste refuse pile collapsed and millions of gallons of water and sludge devastated sixteen small communities in the valley below. Hundreds of survivors sued the coal company for damages. This is the story of the lawsuit that uncovered corporate irresponsibility and created a new precedent where anyone can recover for mental suffering even when they are physically unharmed but "mentally scarred". After Stern graduated from law school he joined the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, then joined an important Washington law firm whose clients were corporations fighting the governement.

Stern got a chance to represent some of the survivors of the Buffalo Creek disaster. Logan County WV had a history of corruption and political oppression (p.7). Is the entire state controlled by the coal companies (p.9)? The people of WV held wildcat strikes to demonstrate their needs. The Pittston Company was the sole stockholder of the Buffalo Mining Company. Was the flood an "Act of God", a natural disaster (p.11)? Or criminal negligence (p.12)? The important legal question was to sue in state or federal court (p.14). The Department of the Interior blamed the victims (p.18)! Coal companies liked to settle claims rapidly to get the lowest payments (p.20). Lawyers would represent the victims on a contingency-fee basis (p.23). Logan County had a "history of violence" (p.24). Many residents were too poor to get proper dental care (p.29). The deep piles of coal waste burned constantly (p.30). The failure of Dam 3 caused the disaster on February 26, 1972 (p.31). The lawyer's Code of Professional Responsibility bans a lawyer from taking a case for free when the client could afford to pay (p.33). There was a conflict among lawyers to represent the victims (pp.36-37).

Page 40 tells of the foods favored by the people: candy, pies, soda pop, etc. People were devastated by the disaster (p.41). Chapter V describes some of the horrors of the flood. The freezing cold made things worse (p.49). [Other accounts of disasters skip over the details.] They sued in Federal court to get a fair deal (p.53). They needed to sue the sole shareholder of the corporation that injured a person (p.55). They could collect punitive damages if Pittston's conduct was reckless (p.57). Pittston's cheapness discouraged settlements (p.58)! An old court case would show negligence. Coal-waste refuse piles are hazardous (p.62). Could they recover damages for mental suffering (p.65)? Most of the survivors had no physical damages; those that had physical damages didn't survive. Would "market value" apply (p.67)? Stern explains the need and rationale for "piercing the corporate veil" (p.83). Mental suffering was the major part of the damages (p.90).

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of April 1970 forced the small business that owned Buffalo Mining Company to sell out to a large corporation (p.152). [An unintended consequence?] The state inspector warned about Dam 3 (p.162); political pressure? Pittston violated safety standards. A hidden document was revealed (p.169)! Chapter XVII describes the legal term "psychic impairment". The coal, timber, oil, and gas benefits outsiders and leaves people in much abject poverty (p.192). Chapter XXX tells why preparing a trial is similar to a stage play, and summarizes the case. The mining company said the dam was safe until it gave way! Chapter XXXI explains their strategy for the trial. They settled before the trial for $13.5 million. The 'Epilogue' says the plaintiffs "were overjoyed" with the settlement (p.301). Would it make Pittston more careful in the future? [Gerry Spence said a lawyer is the only defender for the average person.]
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Customer Reviews (2)

Stern does it again
Gerald Stern is one of America's foremost poets.This little poem is one to study for weeks ... great work.

Existentialism and Starbucks Coffee
Gerald Stern's exploration of a hole in the universe in his long poem The Preacher envelopes the reader in imagination, thought process, and humour.Through the philosophical discussions between two men the reader is taken on a journey through the mind.The poem embodies a stream of consciousness feeling at times, and at other times, takes the reader on a similar journey found in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.The language is rich and the punctuation is almost non-existent.The recurring theme of holes and how or why to repair them comes up throughout the poem while the conversation between the two men seems to drift in and out of reality.Stern's rhythm ads to the poem's surreal effect and the meter has a tendency to push the reader forward through the poem.
Stern begins with his discovery of holes:

As if the one tree you loved so well and hardly
can embrace it is so huge so that with-
out it there might be a hole in the universe
explains how the killing of any one thing can
likewise make a hole except that without
its existence there was neither a hole nor not a hole

From the very beginning of his poem the reader is completely immersed, without warning, in the language and existential thought of the speaker. The lack of punctuation creates a continuum of sound and connectivity between words, making it difficult for the reader to pause and think about what is being said.However, I think Stern's intent is to push the reader through a maze of sounds and images while exploring an issue that is even too complex for the speaker to grasp.This lack of punctuation can be discouraging since the only chance to pause and digest what was read is at commas and stanza breaks, but the effect that it has on the sound and meaning is beautiful.The meter and rhythm of the poem is fast but written in iambs which helps the reader process it as spoken word and also enhances the lack of punctuation and the quickness with which it reads.
The language is rich.Each stanza focuses on a few descriptive words and those images and sounds become repetitive for that stanza, once again helping to enhance the theme of stream of conscious existential thought.The insertion of dialogue throughout the poem brings the reader back to reality if only for a few lines and restates the recurring question of the hole in the universe and what to do about, where the speaker offers the simple solution to "repair it!"
The poem's historical and biblical references merge nicely with the mention of modern luxuries such as Starbucks coffee.This mixture of old and new gives the reader something to think about while also providing references that the reader can relate to on a very every day level.
The language and rhythm mix together in Stern's work to create a sound that seems to come from somewhere beyond the reader's grasp.The reader is given a piece of thought that has been dissected carefully and fully by the speaker with enough holes to allow the reader to apply the poem to their own experiences.
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Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. ... Read more