In 1919, Stern’s debut collection Futurisms appeared, as well as his poem The Naked Man in Midtown. It was already plain to see in these works the poet’s negative attitude towards tradition and convention, leaning more towards futuristic vitalism, enthusiasm and biologism. Anarchy along with the absolute liberation of the city dweller were also visible in his broadsides and manifestos. As a close colleague of Aleksander Wat, he co-published with him the obscene, Dadaist ‘primitives’ bi-monthly’ gga.
After 1921, Stern’s avantgarde activity increased even more. It was then that the poet took part in two of the movement’s most important publications or manifestos, The Broadside of the Futurists and Knife in the Gut.
At the same time, Stern took an interest in film and cinematography as a critic, but primarily as a screenwriter (among the works he adapted were those of Żeromski and Dołęga-Mostowicz). He continued his poetry writing and published numerous rebellious, anarchistic works. The voice of protest – whether against modern civilisation or against the government – can be heard in his collections such as Angelic Boor (1924) and Race to the Pole (1927), in which his poem Europa (1929) can be found. In turn, his Piłsudski (1937) proved so controversial that the government had the entire edition confiscated.
After 1939, Stern found himself in Lviv, where he was imprisoned for several months and exiled into the depths of the Soviet Union. After joining Anders’ Army in 1942, he travelled with it to the Near East. He stayed in Palestine until 1948. There he published his work in Polish, but also in Hebrew.
At the same time, one can see in Stern’s poetry a limiting of the avant-garde threads and the more frequent appearance of a traditional descriptive, reflective lyricism already foreseen in his collection Conversations with Apollin (1938).
