Pen name Gesundheit Sarnatzky Nationality American | Language English | |
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Occupation Poet, physician, executive, academic and social activist Alma mater Stanford Medical School Notable works Homeless Chronicles from Abraham to Burning Man, Disputes, 17s, Melting The Ice King Books Homeless Chronicles: From Abraham to Burning Man, 17s, Melting the Ice King Education Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard College | ||
Gerard Sarnat is a poet, physician, executive, academic and social activist.
Contents
Life
Gerry has used the penname Gesundheit Sarnatzky, which is based on a persona created in his first book, 2010's Homeless Chronicles from Abraham to Burning Man, published by California Institute of Arts and Letters.
The nom de plume derives from great-great grandparents, shtetl lowlifes, Nahum and Yente Sarnatzky, and Jacob Ben Isaac Gesundheit, the High Rabbi of Warsaw.
Since 2008 Sarnat has been published in over 150 journals and anthologies and received recognition, domestically and internationally, including "Poetry in the Arts" 2008 First Place Award and The Dorfman Prize. In 2009 Gerry first edited literary periodicals. he was invited to perform radio interviews including the Jane Crown Show and The Poetry Show and readings including Beyond Baroque that are available as NPR and iTunes podcasts and do workshops in Israel.
Sarnat has worked with senior Los Angeles School poets, including Michelle Bitting, Laurel Ann Bogen, Suzanne Lummis and William Mohr.
In 2012 Pessoa Press published Gerard's second book, Disputes which was reviewed by "The Huffington Post" and major poets such as Christopher Buckley. In September, 2014 Sarnat published his third collection, 17s, in which each poem, stanza or line has 17 syllables. Gerard's fourth collection, Melting The Ice King, was published in 2016. Gerry's collections are available in select bookstores, and he has read at universities including Stanford.
Gerard has been nominated for a 2016 Pushcart Prize.
Dr. Sarnat and his wife appeared in the 6 October 2016 New York Times photo-essay, “The Desert Trippers: Old, Young, Nostalgic and Adventurous” about a three day concert featuring Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, The Who and Roger Waters.
Dr. Sarnat’s sequence, KADDISH FOR THE COUNTRY, was selected for distribution as a pamphlet in Seattle on Inauguration Day 2017 as well as the next morning as part of the Washington DC and nationwide Women’s Marches.
Education and Personal Life
Gerard graduated from Harvard College in 1967, received his MD from Stanford Medical School in 1972, and did his residency at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital and Stanford Medical Center. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has been chief executive officer and chief medical officer for national healthcare companies including HealthAmerica and TakeCare and a Stanford Medical School professor. His area of expertise is the measurement/reward of the healthcare value equation in organized prepaid health systems. For forty years, Gerry has financed, set up, run and staffed clinics for the disenfranchised. He has chaired community organizations and served on international non-profit boards.
Married since 1969, he and his wife have three kids and four grandkids.