{"title":"David Orr","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"beautiful-poess-book-david-orr-9780061673467","title":"Beautiful \u0026 Poess","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"David Orr is no starry-eyed cheerleader for contemporary poetry; Orr's a critic, and a good one. . . . Beautiful \u0026amp; Pointless is a clear-eyed, opinionated, and idiosyncratic guide to a vibrant but endangered art form, essential reading for anyone who loves poetry, and also for those of us who mostly just admire it from afar.\" --Tom Perrotta\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAward-winning New York Times Book Review poetry columnist David Orr delivers an engaging, amusing, and stimulating tour through the world of poetry. With echoes of Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer, Orr's Beautiful \u0026amp; Pointless offers a smart and funny approach to appreciating an art form that many find difficult to embrace.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49561174016273,"sku":"GOR007031720","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50045708796177,"sku":"CIN0061673463VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50998948069649,"sku":"NIN9780061673467","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52102223331601,"sku":"CIN0061673463G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061673463.jpg?v=1751069484"},{"product_id":"encountering-riel-book-david-orr-9780995064553","title":"Encountering Riel","description":"Willie Lorimer is a young poetry student who forgot to resign his commission in the Canadian militia. When he is called up to join the fight against the Metis rebel leader, Louis Riel, Willie is scared, but bolstered by his own naivete. The journey to the heart of the rebellion is long and full of anguish. When the militia reach the West, things go tragically wrong, and their once-heroic cause is marred by the cynical realities of politics, and the harsh realities of war.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49633005011217,"sku":"GOR012188110","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0995064555.jpg?v=1750749756"},{"product_id":"the-rifles-are-there-book-david-orr-9781844153497","title":"\"The Rifles are There\"","description":"The two Royal Ulster Rifles battalions were fierce rivals but both had cause to be proud of themselves and the other.  The 1st Battalion was in India at the outbreak of war whereas the 2nd Battalion distinguished itself before and during the Dunkirk evacuation.  (Montgomery is credited with saying Oit's alright then ETH the Rifles are there'.)  After arduous training, both battalions landed in Normandy on D Day: the 1st by gliders as part of 6th Airlanding Brigade and the 2nd with 9th Brigade, 3rd Division on Sword Beach.  They were only the only British regiment to be represented on D Day by both regular battalions. The authoritative work goes on to describe the long slog to Germany including winter action during the surprise German Bulge counter-offensive and the massive Rhine crossing operation (VARSITY).  As numerous RUR members were in 9th Parachute Battalion, there is a full description of the legendary seizing of the mighty Merville Battery.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49777847107857,"sku":"GOR003389480","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1844153495.jpg?v=1750899212"},{"product_id":"road-not-taken-book-david-orr-9781594205835","title":"The Road Not Taken","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49906173739281,"sku":"CIN1594205833G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50606542192913,"sku":"GOR014011411","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52781422313745,"sku":"GOR007996968","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53121813610769,"sku":"CIN1594205833VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1594205833.jpg?v=1750926941"},{"product_id":"beautiful-poess-book-david-orr-9780061673450","title":"Beautiful \u0026 Poess","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"David Orr is no starry-eyed cheerleader for contemporary poetry; Orr's a critic, and a good one. . . . Beautiful \u0026amp; Pointless is a clear-eyed, opinionated, and idiosyncratic guide to a vibrant but endangered art form, essential reading for anyone who loves poetry, and also for those of us who mostly just admire it from afar.\" --Tom Perrotta\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAward-winning New York Times Book Review poetry columnist David Orr delivers an engaging, amusing, and stimulating tour through the world of poetry. With echoes of Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer, Orr's Beautiful \u0026amp; Pointless offers a smart and funny approach to appreciating an art form that many find difficult to embrace.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50080180371729,"sku":"CIN0061673455G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061673455.jpg?v=1750875670"},{"product_id":"you-too-could-write-a-poem-book-david-orr-9780143128199","title":"You, Too, Could Write a Poem","description":"\u003cb\u003eA collection of reviews and essays by David Orr, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e poetry columnist and one of the most respected critics in America today, his best work of the past fifteen years in one place\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Poetry is never more vital, meaningful, or accessible than in the hands of David Orr. In the pieces collected here, most of them written originally for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, Orr is at his rigorous, conversational, and edifying best. Whether he is considering the careers of contemporary masters, such as Louise Gl ck or Frederick Seidel, sizing up younger American poets, like Matthea Harvey and Matthew Zapruder, or even turning his attention to celebrities and public figures, namely Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Fry, when they choose to wade into the hotly contested waters of the poetry world, Orr is never any less than fully persuasive in arguing what makes a poem or poet great--or not. After all, as Orr points out in his introduction, Poetry is a lot like America, in the sense that liking all of it means that you probably shouldn't be trusted with money, or scissors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Orr's prose is devoted to common sense and clarity, and, in every case, he brings to bear an impeccable ear, an openhandedness of spirit, and a deep wealth of technical knowledge--to say nothing of his shrewd sense of humor. As pleasurable as it is informative, Orr's journalism represents a high watermark in the public discussion of literature. \u003ci\u003eYou, Too, Could Write a Poem\u003c\/i\u003e is at heart a love note to poetry itself.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50119042433297,"sku":"CIN0143128191G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50156882624785,"sku":"GOR013873959","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50954440573201,"sku":"CIN0143128191VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53460863385873,"sku":"CIN0143128191A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0143128191.jpg?v=1751449735"},{"product_id":"road-not-taken-book-david-orr-9780143109570","title":"The Road Not Taken","description":"\u003cb\u003eA cultural \"biography\" of Robert Frost's beloved poem, arguably the most popular piece of American literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood . . .\"\u003c\/i\u003e One hundred years after its first publication in August 1915, Robert Frost's poem \"The Road Not Taken\" is so ubiquitous that it's easy to forget that it is, in fact, a poem. Yet poetry it is, and Frost's immortal lines remain unbelievably popular. And yet in spite of this devotion, almost everyone gets the poem hopelessly wrong.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e David Orr's \u003ci\u003eThe Road Not Taken\u003c\/i\u003e dives directly into the controversy, illuminating the poem's enduring greatness while revealing its mystifying contradictions. Widely admired as the poetry columnist for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, Orr is the perfect guide for lay readers and experts alike. Orr offers a lively look at the poem's cultural influence, its artistic complexity, and its historical journey from the margins of the First World War all the way to its canonical place today as a true masterpiece of American literature.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"The Road Not Taken\" seems straightforward: a nameless traveler is faced with a choice: two paths forward, with only one to walk. And everyone remembers the traveler taking \"the one less traveled by, \/ And that has made all the difference.\" But for a century readers and critics have fought bitterly over what the poem really says. Is it a paean to triumphant self-assertion, where an individual boldly chooses to live outside conformity? Or a biting commentary on human self-deception, where a person chooses between identical roads and yet later romanticizes the decision as life altering?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e What Orr artfully reveals is that the poem speaks to \u003ci\u003eboth\u003c\/i\u003e of these impulses, and all the possibilities that lie between them. The poem gives us a portrait of choice without making a decision itself. And in this, \"The Road Not Taken\" is distinctively American, for the United States is the country of choice in all its ambiguous splendor.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Published for the poem's centennial--along with a new Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of Frost's poems, edited and introduced by Orr himself--\u003ci\u003eThe Road Not Taken\u003c\/i\u003e is a treasure for all readers, a triumph of artistic exploration and cultural investigation that sings with its own unforgettably poetic voice.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Road Not Taken\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \"The most satisfying part of Orr's fresh appraisal of 'The Road Not Taken' is the reappraisal it can inspire in longtime Frost readers whose readings have frozen solid. The crossroads between the poet and the man is where Frost leaves his poems for us to discover, turning what seems like a fork in the road into a site of limitless potential.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50345625878801,"sku":"CIN014310957XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999445487889,"sku":"NIN9780143109570","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51400279294225,"sku":"GOR009988159","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/014310957X.jpg?v=1751163601"},{"product_id":"dangerous-household-items-book-david-orr-9781556595479","title":"Dangerous Household Items","description":"\u003cp\u003eDavid Orr is an authentic iconoclast. His criticism is exuberant and original. Dr. Johnson, my critical hero, urged us to clear our mind of cant. Orr has cleared his. He will enhance the perception of his readers. --Harold Bloom\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA poetry critic and poet himself, David Orr's work often explores a gray area of literary professionalism and process. A columnist for the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e. . . . Orr shows himself to be a reader interested in cutting through noise, particularly with the realities of writing and publishing in a popular culture. --\u003cem\u003ePloughshares\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his wry debut collection of poetry, celebrated critic David Orr ponders the dark underworld of the ordinary, as he traverses the suburban gothic landscape of modern America. Orr finds and names what's at the core of being human: sorrow, kindness, familial love, and memory. The poems are playful, fashioned of fables, familiar objects, and the supernatural, inviting every reader to enter in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom The Abduction \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e. . . Later, he would wake each night screaming\u003cbr\u003eIn helpless confusion, but at the time\u003cbr\u003eThere was just the sun, the beach, the sun, the saltwater\u003cbr\u003eAnd dark forms being kind.\u003cbr\u003eOnly a month\u003cbr\u003eAfter the incident, having lost the skill\u003cbr\u003eOf knowing what was real, he walked\u003cbr\u003eInto headlights he had thought were his wife.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Orr \u003c\/strong\u003eteaches at Cornell University in addition to serving as the poetry columnist for the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e. A native of South Carolina, he lives in Ithaca, New York.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50464876626193,"sku":"CIN1556595476G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51037128786193,"sku":"NIN9781556595479","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51417236766993,"sku":"CIN1556595476VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52668694692113,"sku":"NLS9781556595479","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1556595476.jpg?v=1751244886"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-david-orr.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}