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Printer-Friendly ModeFerris prof reads poetry in Founders Hall
December 4, 2006 —
Ferris State University professor and published poet and author Phillip Sterling was on campus Wednesday holding a poetry reading in Founders Hall.
Sterling has published poetry and prose widely, placing his work in several periodicals including The Paris Review, American Literary Review, and Passages North.
He is the author of three collections of poems, "Quatrains" (2006), "Significant Others" (2005), and "Mutual Shores" (2000), and the editor of "Imported Breads: Literature of Cultural Exchange" (2003).
Sterling is also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, a Syndicated Fiction Award, two senior Fulbright lectureships (Belgium and Poland), and a Distinguished Faculty Award from the Michigan Association of Governing Boards.
On the evening, the most popular poems seemed to be Sterling's quatrains, four-line poems that are usually read as single sentences. The quatrains dealt with a number of subjects, including one about banana bread and how it is not possible to eat too much of it.
"I believe this to be true," Sterling said as he mentioned his ability to make the bread.
Sterling said his closing poem has been a popular request at other readings even though he personally does not consider it a "blockbuster poem."
The poem, entitled "Criteria," details the standards for one to be recognized. According to the poem, some of the criteria needed for one to be recognized include being dead after leading an unremarkable life.
Leading up to reading the poem, Sterling talked about how human beings are always working towards some type of award or honor.
During a question and answer session at the end of the reading, Sterling entertained the audience as he went off the topic of some questions.
Listeners were given insight as to what type of person Sterling is. He described himself as a domestic person, which was an explanation for his tendency to put some of his poems in a woman's voice.
One audience member asked why Sterling chooses to recite most of his poems from memory instead of reading them. Sterling replied that he does it because when one works on a poem for so long, it becomes embedded within you.