Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to talk with children, to teachers, and make sure they get poetry in the curriculum early. Rita Dove childcurriculumearly Change image and share on social
It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate. Rita Dove combinationexcitfind Change image and share on social
I'm a night person. My best times are midnight to six, actually. Rita Dove midnightnightperson Change image and share on social
I think one of the things that people tend to forget is that poets do write out of life. It isn't some set piece that then gets put up on the shelf, but that the impetus, the real instigation for poetry is everything that's happening around us. Rita Dove forgethappenimpetus share on social
If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively reading, I don't think they're really a writer. Rita Dove compulsivelyfindlove Change image and share on social
I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing. Rita Dove amazehappenlife Change image and share on social
I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age. Rita Dove ageapprehensivefear Change image and share on social
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself. Rita Dove alivebackchildhood Change image and share on social
I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding. Rita Dove artfederalfund Change image and share on social
I've always been intrigued by the way history works, the way we decide what is mentioned. Rita Dove decidehavehistory Change image and share on social
