Gerald Stern has been called an “American original,” “a sometimes comic, sometimes tragic visionary.” Over dozens of books, and decades of teaching and activism, Stern has emerged as one of America’s most celebrated and irascible poets. Stern’s poetry frequently references his all-American, working-class upbringing as well as his Jewish and Eastern European heritage. He was Poet Laureate of New Jersey from 2000–2002. His new book is Galaxy Love: POEMS ($25.95 Norton.) 

Anne Marie Macari is author of Red Deer, She Heads into Wilderness, Gloryland and Ivory Cradle; and a member of the Alice James Books Cooperative Board. Macari founded and teaches in the Drew MFA Program for Poetry & Poetry in Translation and has taught on the faculty of the Prague Summer Seminars. Interview by Elaine Terranova, author of six books of poems and two chapbooks, her work has appeared in a number of literary magazines and anthologies.