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Gregory Orr grew up in the Hudson Valley, where traumatic childhood incidents forged writing as an act of survival. The author of numerous poetry collections, including The Last Love Poem I Will Ever Write, he is a master of short, lyric free verse. He wrote the memoir The Blessing and three books of essays, including Poetry as Survival. A professor of English at the University of Virginia since 1975, Orr lives in Charlottesville with his wife and daughters.

Photograph by Trisha Orr.

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Two Poems

by Gregory Orr
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“When I was alive . . . Eurydice”


When I was alive—only glimpses,
moments of bliss but
always the body resisting,
refusing to let
the soul go.

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  • Oh my! It all comes back to love. A fabulous duo....
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