March 7, 2024

Gregory Orr

*

Weeping, weeping, weeping.
No wonder the oceans are full;
No wonder the seas are rising.

It’s not the beloved’s fault.
Dying is part of the story.
It’s not your fault either:
Tears are also.
But
You can’t read when you’re
Crying. Sobbing, you won’t
Hear the song that resurrects
The body of the beloved.

Why not rest awhile? If weeping
Is one of the world’s tasks,
It doesn’t lack adherents.
Someone will take your place,
Someone will weep for you.

from Rattle #24, Winter 2005

__________

Gregory Orr: “I know these words are hard to work with, because they sound naive. But they’re not naive, they’re fundamental. I think when I read a poem that deeply moves me, that feels beautiful and moving, I feel as though I’ve been given more courage to live.”

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January 12, 2019

Gregory Orr

*

When you’re afraid
You’re afraid
Of something.

When you dread,
It’s Nothing
That you dread
(so the philosopher
said).

Nothing
Can be
Terrifying.
But don’t get
Confused: a blank
Page in the Book
Isn’t Nothing.

It’s something
Waiting to happen,
It’s the beloved
Holding her breath,
Hoping you’ll write or call.

from Rattle #24, Winter 2005

__________

Gregory Orr: “I apologize if these words seem really simple or simplistic, but to me when you read a poem that really, really moves you, you get both hope and courage from it. You really do. I know these words are hard to work with, because they sound naive. But they’re not naive, they’re fundamental. I think when I read a poem that deeply moves me, that feels beautiful and moving, I feel as though I’ve been given more courage to live.” (web)

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October 24, 2010

Gregory Orr

*

Could it all be said in a single poem
And not be completely cryptic?
There’s Issa’s haiku about
His daughter’s death:

“This world of dew
is only a world of dew.
And yet, ah, and yet …”

How the two lines seem to accept
That life is ephemeral
And then that last:
A cry of quiet anguish.

Accept, but protest. Yield,
Then resist.
The heart
Would have it both ways.
To see the world and say it true
Means starting with loss.
But that’s not what the heart wants,
That’s not where the saying stops.

For Sam Hamill

from Rattle #24, Winter 2004

__________

Gregory Orr: “I apologize if these words seem really simple or simplistic, but to me when you read a poem that really, really moves you, you get both hope and courage from it. You really do. I know these words are hard to work with, because they sound naive. But they’re not naive, they’re fundamental. I think when I read a poem that deeply moves me, that feels beautiful and moving, I feel as though I’ve been given more courage to live.” (webpage)

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April 12, 2009

TRISHA ORR: “These paintings were generated in response to an invitation to collaborate with my husband, the poet Gregory Orr, for an exhibit entitled ‘Love Letter Invitational’ at the Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. The exhibit consisted of collaborative works done by writers and artists on the subject of ‘love.’ Greg and I had been asked to work in collaboration twice before, and each time he’d written poems based on my still life paintings. This time, we decided to reverse the process, so I would make paintings in response to his poems. I decided to incorporate the text of the poem or portions of the text into the painting. I used loosely constructed grids and tried to find the color and light and weight of the words in each poem. I wanted the language to be legible, but I reconfigured the line breaks to make compositions that were visually balanced. The texts of the paintings come from Greg’s two most recent books, Concerning the Book That Is the Body of the Beloved and How Beautiful the Beloved.”

Click the image to view a larger version:

–from Rattle #29, Summer 2008
Tribute to Visual Poetry

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March 28, 2009

TRISHA ORR: “These paintings were generated in response to an invitation to collaborate with my husband, the poet Gregory Orr, for an exhibit entitled ‘Love Letter Invitational’ at the Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. The exhibit consisted of collaborative works done by writers and artists on the subject of ‘love.’ Greg and I had been asked to work in collaboration twice before, and each time he’d written poems based on my still life paintings. This time, we decided to reverse the process, so I would make paintings in response to his poems. I decided to incorporate the text of the poem or portions of the text into the painting. I used loosely constructed grids and tried to find the color and light and weight of the words in each poem. I wanted the language to be legible, but I reconfigured the line breaks to make compositions that were visually balanced. The texts of the paintings come from Greg’s two most recent books, Concerning the Book That Is the Body of the Beloved and How Beautiful the Beloved.”

Click the image to view a larger version:

from Rattle #29, Summer 2008
Tribute to Visual Poetry

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January 9, 2009

Gregory Orr & Trisha Orr

TO BE ALIVE

from Rattle #29, Summer 2008
Tribute to Visual Poetry

__________

Trisha Orr: “These paintings were generated in response to an invitation to collaborate with my husband, the poet Gregory Orr, for an exhibit entitled ‘Love Letter Invitational’ at the Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. The exhibit consisted of collaborative works done by writers and artists on the subject of ‘love.’ Greg and I had been asked to work in collaboration twice before, and each time he’d written poems based on my still life paintings. This time, we decided to reverse the process, so I would make paintings in response to his poems. I decided to incorporate the text of the poem or portions of the text into the painting. I used loosely constructed grids and tried to find the color and light and weight of the words in each poem. I wanted the language to be legible, but I reconfigured the line breaks to make compositions that were visually balanced. The texts of the paintings come from Greg’s two most recent books, Concerning the Book That Is the Body of the Beloved and How Beautiful the Beloved.”

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December 8, 2008

TRISHA ORR: “These paintings were generated in response to an invitation to collaborate with my husband, the poet Gregory Orr, for an exhibit entitled ‘Love Letter Invitational’ at the Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia. The exhibit consisted of collaborative works done by writers and artists on the subject of ‘love.’ Greg and I had been asked to work in collaboration twice before, and each time he’d written poems based on my still life paintings. This time, we decided to reverse the process, so I would make paintings in response to his poems. I decided to incorporate the text of the poem or portions of the text into the painting. I used loosely constructed grids and tried to find the color and light and weight of the words in each poem. I wanted the language to be legible, but I reconfigured the line breaks to make compositions that were visually balanced. The texts of the paintings come from Greg’s two most recent books, Concerning the Book That Is the Body of the Beloved and How Beautiful the Beloved.”

Click the image to view a larger version:

from Rattle #29, Summer 2008
Tribute to Visual Poetry

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