Stephen Stern - On Poetry Infusing Life Lessons

I Offer Poetry

This week on I Offer Poetry Elizabeth interviews her high school Honors Organic Chemistry Teacher, Mr. Stephen Stern. You read that correctly; Elizabeth took an honors level science class. It obviously didn’t pan out for her, but she still adores Mr. Stern and was thrilled to discuss all things creative in this episode.

Stephen Stern was born and raised in California and moved to Elizabeth’s hometown of Columbus, OH in 1993 while his wife attended veterinary school at The Ohio State University. He and his wife ended up making Columbus their home; they have been married for 29 years, have two children together, and Mr. Stern continues to teach high school in the suburbs just outside of OSU campus.

In their catch-up Mr. Stern and Elizabeth discuss the strong ties to art passed down through family members, what it means to grow up and experience loss, and how excellent Mr. Stern is at encouraging his students, no matter their interest level in science.

This episode honors those we’ve lost and gives Elizabeth the chance to say thank you to a teacher that helped her make it through grieving her father. It is a very special episode and we hope you’ll find a lot of inspiration in the words of Kipling and the discussion surrounding his poetry.

“It could be from triumphs or losses, but sometimes you just go forward because that's life. And that's what my parents taught me. And maybe the poem taught me a little bit about that; there's good, there's bad, there's things that go along the way. You’ve got to meet them the same way. And I'm not always even keeled, I can't say that I’m like this poem all the time, but at least there's something there that I saw growing up that helped get me back to a centerline when I need to be.”

-Stephen Stern

Timestamps:

00:00:24 Guest Introduction

00:05:12 Poem Reading (Stephen)

00:07:28 Author Info

00:09:02 Stephen’s Relationship to the Poem

00:19:21 Pause / Poem Reading (Elizabeth)

00:25:27 Reflection & Offering

Poem & Links:

If by Rudyard Kipling (© 1910)

I.O.P. Lexicon:

Knave: (noun) a dishonest or unscrupulous man.

Sinew: (noun) a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone OR the parts of a structure, system, or thing that give it strength or bind it together.

Where to find our host Elizabeth:

@ellsonelizabeth | Twitter

Where to find us:

@iofferpoetry | Instagram

@iofferpoetry | Twitter

[e-mail] | iofferpoetry.com

Produced & Edited by John Campione:

Campiaudio.com | @campiaudio

[e-mail]

Music @zacharymanno | Art @sammycampioneart