In a discussion with Chris Hedges about contemporary poetry, award-winning poet Gerald Stern laments that “we’ve lost a voice that is unafraid to speak truth to power, and that longs to do that.”

Stern, who has written 20 books of poetry and received a National Book Award for Poetry and a Pulitzer Prize nomination, talks to the Truthdig columnist about how the digital age has affected political poetry and traces left-leaning politics in 20th-century verse from around the world.

Watch the full conversation in the video above.

— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata

Your support is crucial...

As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.

Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.

Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG