Odd Mercy by Gerald Stern

The centerpiece of Gerald Stern's ninth collection is a long poem titled "Hot Dog", named for a beautiful street woman. Other characters in the poem are St. Augustine, Walt Whitman, Noah, Gerald Stern himself, and a 99-year-old black preacher from the Midwest. "Hot Dog" received the 1996 best poem award from THE AMERICAN POETRY REVIEW. Stern is a 1966 recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.