My mother's father, Joseph Lerner (1915-1971), wrote poetry.

Born after his death, I knew him through stories relayed by my family, and through The World Has Sprung a Leak and Other Poems. This volume of Joe's work was edited and published by my grandmother, Estelle Lerner, in 1976.

This website presents the contents of the book, faithfully and without comment. This brief introduction is all I have added. The appendix, "Image of a Man," contains reflections contributed in 1976 by Joe's friends and family; these, too, are presented here exactly as originally published.

Noah Lerner Diamond
New York, 2012