He has edited, along with Mark Pawlak, two anthologies of high school writing Smart Like Me and Bullseye. A musician as well as a poet, Lourie plays the tenor sax and trumpet with the Blue Suede Boppers, the G-Clefs, and musician Big Jack Johnson. In 2000, he released a CD, Ghost Radio Blues, a mix of blues and spoken word. He is retired from the University of Massachusetts, where he worked as an editor.

He currently resides in Somerville, Massachusetts, with his wife, Abby Freedman.

Ghost Ship. Hanging Loose (1998)If the Delta was the Sea. Hanging Loose (2008)