Stern was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1925.[1][2] His parents, Harry and Ida Barach Stern, were Jewish and immigrated to the United States from Ukraine and Poland, respectively, in 1905. They owned several clothing stores and sold other items including cigars.[1] Stern attended Taylor Allderdice High School in his hometown, graduating in 1942.[1][3] He was initially rejected from military service due to his poor eyesight, but served in the Army Air Forces from 1946 to 1947 after the military re-examined him. He studied at the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1947. Two years later, he obtained a Master of Arts from Columbia University.[1][4]
Career
After earning his master's degree, Stern relocated to Europe to undertake doctoral studies at the University of Paris.[1][5] However, he did not finish his degree and spent his twenties traveling between New York City and Europe.[6][7] It was during this time that he started to write and publish poetry.[1] Stern went back to the US in 1956 and started teaching at Temple University.[1] He remained there for seven years and left after being unable to receive tenure. He subsequently taught at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for four years.[7] After a period of paid leave, he taught at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey,[7][8] before briefly working at Pittsburgh (his alma mater) in 1979.[7] He then went to the University of Iowa at the behest of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and taught there for 14 years until his retirement in 1996. Stern came out of retirement to teach at Sarah Lawrence College for a while.[7]
In addition to the aforementioned academic institutions, Stern also taught at Rutgers University.[8] During the mid-1970s, he was a literature consultant for both New Jersey and Pennsylvania Council of the Arts as well as a coordinator for Pennsylvania's poetry in schools program.[4] Stern was a faculty member and co-founder of New England College's Master of Fine Arts Program in Poetry.
Personal life
Stern married Patricia Miller in 1952. They had two children together. They divorced in the 1980s.[1] He was in a domestic partnership with poet Anne Marie Macari during the last 25 years of his life, and he lived in New York City and Miami Beach, Florida.[1][6]
Stern died on October 27, 2022, at the Calvary Hospice in New York City. He was 97 years old.[1][14]
^"Jewish Book Council". Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010. Jewish Book Council > National Jewish Book Award Winners]