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Poetry | Soft cover | 81 Pages | $16

Praise for A Sunday in Purgatory

Morgenthau’s poems are crisp, elegant forays into memory both personal and cultural, as he engages, with an ironic, Lowellian eye, a rich cultural history of growing up in affluent Manhattan during the 1920s and 30s. His surgical examinations of self and his unflinching stare into mortality define the unique and honest voice of this remarkable first book of poems.

Peter Balakian, Author of Ozone Journal, 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry

Henry Morgenthau III portrait

About the Author

Having reached his centennial year, Henry Morgenthau III found a delayed vocation: writing poetry. Formerly a producer and writer for WBGH in Boston, a major contributor to PBS, he received many awards for his pioneering documentaries and talk shows. He produced the series, Eleanor Roosevelt: Prospect of Mankind, which she hosted during the last three years of her life. His memoir, Mostly Morgenthaus, won the annual Jewish Book Council prize for autobiography/memoir. He recently published poetry in Nimrod and an essay, “The White House Revisited,” in District Lines, published by Politics and Prose. Morgenthau lived in Washington, D.C.

Morgenthau talks about becoming a poet in his 90s, and the success of his first book at age 99. From “Of Some Renown,” a video series. July 2017.


Centennial poet Henry Morgenthau III reads from his debut book of poems, A Sunday in Purgatory. February 20th, 2017, at the University of Baltimore.


A slideshow about the poet behind the Henry Morgenthau III Poetry Prize for a Writer over 70.

Readings & Interviews



For Booksellers and Media

Download a copy of the book’s press kit.

The Morgenthau Prize

The Henry Morgenthau III Poetry Prize is a $3,000 prize for a first book of poetry by a writer age 70 or older. The prize was established in 2018 by the Morgenthau children to honor their father, who began writing poetry in his 90s. It is awarded every other year. Read more about the prize and its latest winners here.