“David Orr is the poetry critic for The New York Times, and he’s on a mission to bring readers back to this under-appreciated art form.”
–NPR

“A poetry critic and poet himself, David Orr’s work often explores a gray area of literary professionalism and process. A columnist for the New York Times Book Review, […] Orr shows himself to be a reader interested in cutting through noise, particularly with the realities of writing and publishing in a popular culture […]”
-Ploughshares

“[O]ne of the more influential voices on poetry currently inhabiting this planet … He has become an unofficial if broadly recognized spokesman for poetry itself … [A]s Orr says in his impossible book, if you write something interesting, if you write something difficult to forget, then it is enough.”
―Morgan Meis, The Smart Set

“David Orr knows how to get that rare thing for poetry: public attention.”
―Daniel D’Addario

“Spring Arts Preview: Top Ten Books”
–The New York Observer

“David 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

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“Amidst the bilge, posturing and chicanery emanating from that parallel universe, the institutional world of foundations, academies, societies, endowments, programs, committees and panels; along with the attendant pieties, bogus reputations and notions of decorum that nowadays obtain in American poetry, strides David Orr and, with a bracing ahem, reminds us that poetry is an ancient and living art, a robust American art, and not a commodity or vehicle for self-expression, social betterment, or career enhancement. Mr. Orr argues his case with passion, eloquence, erudition and good sense—and, as is his custom, not a little moxy.”

—August Kleinzahler