Gregory Orr's How Beautiful The Beloved

Gregory Orr was born in Albany, NY in 1941 and is the author of many poetry collections. His book, How Beautiful The Beloved by Copper Canyon Press in 2009. My father-in-law brought this to me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. While I did not take the time to ask permission to post some of the poems full-length I can still offer up some brief notes about these wonderful love poems. The love poems could easily be about a higher power, a lover, or about the Earth. Each poem offers up its own perspective for us to interpret as we wish.

One poem which you can read in its entirety is “praising all creation” by using this link:
http://www.coppercanyonpress.org/catalog/index.cfm?action=displayPoem&Book_ID=1397&Poem_ID=1267
This is a poem I feel would be dedicated to the idea of an omniscient creator in which we are charged with taking care of our world and praising it for its abundances. Lines such as “That’s our job—to keep/The sweet machine of it/Running as smoothly as it can,” are meant to convey our own responsibilities in life to keeping our world a place worth living in.

One poem in particular, on page 30, brings home the idea of love and grief. The opening line “That T-shirt—it smells/Of him. Don’t wash it.” It ends with the line “Grief leading me by the nose.” It is a very short but very powerful poem that leaves me feeling bereft of a loved one whether I have suffered a loss or not. Gregory Orr is able to convey much while saying little which is the ultimate test of a poet in my estimation. Paring down the words yet leaving us with an emotional sensation is a way a poet shows their true “craftsmanship,” if you will. This poem reminded me of a friend of mine who passed away long ago and so Gregory Orr has executed this poem perfectly for those of us who have ever suffered in losing a loved one.


The poems range from joy to sorrow, omniscient to very personal, and I urge you to pick up a copy for yourselves either at the local library, book-store, or on-line.


To learn more about Gregory Orr, go to Poets.org at this link:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/218


If you would like to purchase a copy of How Beautiful The Beloved for yourself, you can buy a copy for $16.00 (not including Shipping & Handling) at the link below:
http://www.coppercanyonpress.org/catalog/index.cfm?action=displayBook&book_ID=1397


Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…