In her introduction to Alan Gerson's Things We Cannot Know, Patricia Roger writes, "About half of the poems in this collection are abstract and philosophical meditations on subjects such as faith and uncertainty, and half use vivid visual images often to capture a moment ... and convey the feeling that moment inspires. The poems reflect Alan's education and career. He is the youngest son of parents active in the Jewish community in New Orleans and he majored in philosophy at Boston University. Poems such as 'I Am a Terrible Jew,' 'Belief Is Desire,' and 'Faith's Mechanism' show a struggle between faith and doubt. 'The Antimonies,' 'Das Denken Ist Schwer (Thinking Is Hard),' and 'Stumbling into Exile' focus on ontological and epistemological questions. ... The poems in this collection ponder Things We Cannot Know and seem to suggest that while we are pondering, we can also take delight in experience."