Amir Or is a poet, translator, teacher, and editor. Or has published seven books of poetry, and his poems have also been published in translation, in the books Poetry Is a Criminal Girl (Arabic, Faradis Publishers, Paris 1995), Miracle (English\Hebrew, Poetry Ireland, Dublin 1998), Drowning, He Breathes Living Water (Macedonian, Peliades series of the SPE poetry festival, 2000), Language Says (English, PM Publications, Chattanooga, 2001), and Poem (English, Dedalus Publishing House, Dublin 2004). His poems have also been published in various anthologies and poetry magazines in more than 25 languages. Or has participated in many international poetry festivals and has been a guest writer at several cultural institutions, among them the Literarische Colloquium Berlin and the Nihon University of Tokyo. For his poetry, he has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Award, the Bernstein Award, and the Holon Award, as well as fellowships from the University of Iowa, the Jewish and Hebrew Centre at Yarnton Oxford, and the Hawthornden Castle Scotland.

Or studied philosophy and comparative religion at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he later lectured on ancient Greek religion. He has published articles on poetry, classic studies, and religious studies, and has taught poetry and creative writing in Israel, Japan, and the UK (Tel Aviv Univ., Brooks Univ., Bath Spa Univ., Nihon Univ. and Ben Gurion Univ.).

Or has also published several books of translations into Hebrew, among them The Gospel of Thomas (1992), Limb-Loosening Desire; An Anthology of Erotic Greek Poetry (1993), Stories from the Mahabharata (1998) and To a Woman by Shuntaro Tanikawa (2000, with Akiko Takahashi). For his translations of poetry from ancient Greek, he received the honorary award of the Israeli Minister of Culture.

Since its foundation, Or has been chief editor of the Helicon Society for the Advancement of Poetry in Israel. He has initiated and developed Helicon Poetry School and is editor of its journal, its series of poetry books, and "the Sha'ar Festival" for new Hebrew and Arabic poetry. Or is also local coordinator for "Poets for Peace" (the UN sponsored UPC venture).