Response to Gerald Stern poetry reading

Gerald Stern did a wonderful job of holding his audience's attention as he recited his poems. He was entertaining as he read with a strong voice that had a comical twist. The poems that he shared portrayed what was stated about him on www.poets.org, which was "The voice is intimate, someone unafraid to be imperfect." He did clearly demonstrate this description of himself as he read "Lillies" and "She Was A Dove." He read with such assurance and definition.

"Lillies" was descriptively written in narrative form and as he shared about this unusual experience that he had while sitting in traffic one day, the reader could picture his story as it was unfolding. The vivid language used by this poet allowed the audience to clearly picture the scene as he described it. The audience was able to feel his emotion of surprise and picture the expression on his face as a prior student approached his car in traffic with such excitement and his ambivalence about how exactly to respond to the praise he was unexpectantly receiving. "The voice is intimate, someone unafraid to be imperfect," describes how Stern expressed himself in this poem. He shared about an intimate moment and his lack of a perfect response to the unexpected situation that arose. His surprise and hestitation in response was what made the poem so comical and enjoyable to the reader.

"She Was A Dove" also reveals the author's intimate voice as he uses descriptive language to describe the woman he loves. He uses colors and sounds to develop the vivid language that he expresses throughout the poem. He is able to clearly portray how he views the woman who he loves and how they struggled with important decisions in regard to their future, "should we soar or should we land and stay." He seemed to be sharing with the reader the need to remember to appreciate those we love and think carefully about the choices and decisions that we make in life.

Overall, this was an impressive poetry reading.