It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is...

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is...

I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the...

I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the...

I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders...

I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders...

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy...

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy...

My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems...

My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems...

To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this...

To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this...

It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.

It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.

Libraries are where it all begins.

Libraries are where it all begins.

Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with...

Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with...

People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me,...

People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me,...

I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered...

I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered...

If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively...

If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively...

The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds...

The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds...

What is ironic is that Allen Ginsberg's importance was in its twilight for so many...

What is ironic is that Allen Ginsberg's importance was in its twilight for so many...

I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought...

I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought...

I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects...

I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects...

Being true to yourself really means being true to all the complexities of the human...

Being true to yourself really means being true to all the complexities of the human...

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures

No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures

Wine is bottled poetry.

Wine is bottled poetry.