Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with the right pacing, then you're already on the way to poetry. It's about using words in very precise ways and using gesture.

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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...

You have to imagine it possible before you can see something. You can have the...

You have to imagine it possible before you can see something. You can have the...

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

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

I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge...

I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge...

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...

One definition of eternity is that we are not alone on this planet, that there...

One definition of eternity is that we are not alone on this planet, that there...

It really wasn't until I was in college when I began to write more and...

It really wasn't until I was in college when I began to write more and...

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...

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every...

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every...

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...

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,...

For years, I had heard about the lack of interest in literature in the U.S....

For years, I had heard about the lack of interest in literature in the U.S....

When we are touched by something it's as if we're being brushed by an angel's...

When we are touched by something it's as if we're being brushed by an angel's...

The American Dream is a phrase we'll have to wrestle with all of our lives....

The American Dream is a phrase we'll have to wrestle with all of our lives....

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...

The joy of working at something to find out what it means to me is...

The joy of working at something to find out what it means to me is...

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...

The sound of the mandolin is a very curious sound because it's cheerful and melancholy...

The sound of the mandolin is a very curious sound because it's cheerful and melancholy...

I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge...

I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge...

I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I...

I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I...