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We Interrupt This Broadcast: Poems
A stunning new volume from a poet whose body of work illuminates the ways “language can become a tool for carrying what feels unbearable” (Krista Tippet, On Being).
From a master lyric poet characterized by Mary Oliver as “a Walt Whitman without an inch of Whitman’s bunting and oratory” comes this late-life collection that takes its overall title from the venerable phrase that alerted listeners and viewers to an urgent event of public significance. Again and again, the poems in We Interrupt This Broadcast dramatize, in simple and deep language, what it feels like to be alive in our time.
The disconnects that haunt and animate these poems are political, ecological, and psychological. Some, like “Un-Earth: A Sequence,” revisit early trauma experienced both intimately and socially, while others contemplate our present ecological crises.
Set against this somber background of disconnects, Gregory Orr invokes the natural world and human intimacy as sources of growth and hope. Giving voice to both personal and universal anguish, We Interrupt This Broadcast repeatedly transforms desolation into celebration, silence and suffering into song.
From a master lyric poet characterized by Mary Oliver as “a Walt Whitman without an inch of Whitman’s bunting and oratory” comes this late-life collection that takes its overall title from the venerable phrase that alerted listeners and viewers to an urgent event of public significance. Again and again, the poems in We Interrupt This Broadcast dramatize, in simple and deep language, what it feels like to be alive in our time.
The disconnects that haunt and animate these poems are political, ecological, and psychological. Some, like “Un-Earth: A Sequence,” revisit early trauma experienced both intimately and socially, while others contemplate our present ecological crises.
Set against this somber background of disconnects, Gregory Orr invokes the natural world and human intimacy as sources of growth and hope. Giving voice to both personal and universal anguish, We Interrupt This Broadcast repeatedly transforms desolation into celebration, silence and suffering into song.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2026
About the author
Gregory Orr
37 books118 followersGregory Orr was born in Albany, New York in 1947, and grew up in the rural Hudson Valley. He received a BA degree from Antioch College in 1969 and an MFA from Columbia University in 1972.
He is the author of more than ten collections of poetry, including River Inside the River: Poems (W. W. Norton, 2013); How Beautiful the Beloved (Copper Canyon Press, 2009); Concerning the Book that is the Body of the Beloved (2005); The Caged Owl: New and Selected Poems (2002); Orpheus and Eurydice (2001); City of Salt (1995), which was a finalist for the L.A. Times Poetry Prize; Gathering the Bones Together (1975) and Burning the Empty Nests (1973).
He is also the author of a memoir, The Blessing (Council Oak Books, 2002), which was chosen by Publisher's Weekly as one of the fifty best non-fiction books the year, and three books of essays, including Poetry As Survival (2002) and Stanley Kunitz: An Introduction to the Poetry (1985).
- See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/...
He is the author of more than ten collections of poetry, including River Inside the River: Poems (W. W. Norton, 2013); How Beautiful the Beloved (Copper Canyon Press, 2009); Concerning the Book that is the Body of the Beloved (2005); The Caged Owl: New and Selected Poems (2002); Orpheus and Eurydice (2001); City of Salt (1995), which was a finalist for the L.A. Times Poetry Prize; Gathering the Bones Together (1975) and Burning the Empty Nests (1973).
He is also the author of a memoir, The Blessing (Council Oak Books, 2002), which was chosen by Publisher's Weekly as one of the fifty best non-fiction books the year, and three books of essays, including Poetry As Survival (2002) and Stanley Kunitz: An Introduction to the Poetry (1985).
- See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 1, 2026
Gregory Orr has been one of America’s essential poets for decades. Across more than a dozen collections, starting in the early 1970s, he’s plumbed the depths of his own life with such sensitivity and wit that readers have understood their own lives more clearly.
His latest collection, We Interrupt This Broadcast, looks back without an iota of sentimentality but with the same brave candor fans have long adored.
“I’m so old now,” he says in one poem, “I don’t even / Have to stand tip-toe / To see over the final edge.”
At the end of a long poem titled “Pedagogy of Trauma,” he concludes by addressing his bruises and wounds:
You taught me not all hurt
Permanently harms
And some disasters
May even mask the arrival of grace.
I needed you to complete my education.
In a similar way, many of us need this valedictory collection.
You can read an excerpt from this collection on my Substack:
https://roncharles.substack.com/i/209...
His latest collection, We Interrupt This Broadcast, looks back without an iota of sentimentality but with the same brave candor fans have long adored.
“I’m so old now,” he says in one poem, “I don’t even / Have to stand tip-toe / To see over the final edge.”
At the end of a long poem titled “Pedagogy of Trauma,” he concludes by addressing his bruises and wounds:
You taught me not all hurt
Permanently harms
And some disasters
May even mask the arrival of grace.
I needed you to complete my education.
In a similar way, many of us need this valedictory collection.
You can read an excerpt from this collection on my Substack:
https://roncharles.substack.com/i/209...
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
A wide range of poems across various topics, including childhood trauma and grief, love, the beauty and wonders of nature, the Covid-19 pandemic, and more. I enjoyed the variety, the cadence and tonal shifts, and how personal these all felt. I liked the interlude containing odd proverbs, notions, and small songs very much. This is a beautiful little poem book written by a seasoned poet who has clearly honed his craft.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Gregory Orr captures relatable feelings and clever wordplays. His poems about the pandemic felt true. #GoodreadsGiveaway
July 23, 2026
I'll be the first to admit I have no idea how to evaluate poetry, but I do try to read the work of at least one new poet every year anyway. I found this collection to be very accessible - at least I think I understood the point mostly. I particularly enjoyed the 'puzzle of the self', the inner monologue, and the Covid lockdown series. I'm also proud to say that, like the author, I can indeed build a palace out of twigs.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews