Join us for Poets in the Conversation Room!

Cosponsored with Grace Cavalieri, Maryland’s 10th Poet Laureate, Kymberly Taylor, Editor-in-Chief of Annapolis Home Magazine, and St. John’s College. 

The series is made possible by the Rowsome Estate honoring the memory of St. John's tutor, Nancy Buchanauer.

About the Poet

GREGORY ORR, author of fourteen collections of poetry, the most recent of which is We Interrupt This Broadcast which W.W. Norton will publish in June 2026.

He is also the author of a memoir, The Blessing (reissued Milkweed Editions, 2019), which was chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the fifty best non-fiction books of 2002. His autobiographical essay on his experiences as a volunteer in the Civil Rights Movement, “Return to Hayneville,” was reprinted in Best Essays of 2009, Best Creative Non-fiction 2009, and Pushcart Prizes.

In addition, he is the author of Poetry as Survival (University of Georgia Press, 2002), a consideration of the existential function of the personal lyric, and A Primer for Poets and Readers of Poetry (W. W. Norton 2018). He’s been interviewed by Krista Tippett for her “On Being” series and his personal essay was chosen to be broadcast on National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” series in the spring of 2006. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

He is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Virginia, where he taught since 1975 and was the founder and first director of its MFA Program in Writing. He lives with his wife, the painter Trisha Orr in Charlottesville, Virginia.

About the Poets in the Conversation Room Series

In partnership with Annapolis Home Magazine, St. John’s College presents a series called Poets in the Conversation Room hosted by renowned poet, author, playwright, and tenth Maryland Poet Laureate Grace Cavalieri.

“Annapolis needs poetry,” says Kymberly Taylor, poet and Editor-In-Chief of Annapolis Home Magazine. “It needs this incredible art form that helps us feel things beyond what we hear and read online, on television, and in the news.”

The poetry series is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Works by the featured poets will be on display at the St. John’s College Greenfield Library and available to purchase at the St. John’s College Bookstore.

“I think it’s going to create a tremendous audience because it’s also entertaining,” says Cavalieri. “Poetry speaks to how we feel and how it is to be alive in this world—and who does not want to hear that?”

*Please note, registration is for estimating attendance; tickets are not required.