Poem on the Removal of the Statue of Johnny Reb

By Gregory Orr   I won’t miss the way Your bronze body Froze History into bitterness.   That spot you occupied No longer radiates Shadows In every direction Like a malign sundial Designed to thwart The slow Progress of time.   Your absence: a form Of hope, a flat And empty space Where citizens stand […]

The path to meaning: Gregory Orr’s The Blessing gets a second chance

By Cortney Phillips Meriwether When Gregory Orr first published The Blessing in 2002, he did so after years of reluctance. The memoir, which begins with a 12-year-old Orr accidentally shooting and killing his younger brother on a hunting trip, was understandably difficult to write. Yet, through the encouragement of his wife, he did write it—and […]