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

What writing does is to reveal.

What writing does is to reveal.

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...

All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first...

All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first...

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 have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50...

I have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50...

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...

I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in...

I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in...

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...

Going to the library was the one place we got to go without asking for...

Going to the library was the one place we got to go without asking for...

If only the sun-drenched celebrities are being noticed and worshiped, then our children are going...

If only the sun-drenched celebrities are being noticed and worshiped, then our children are going...

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...

I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step.

I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step.

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...

For many years, I thought a poem was a whisper overheard, not an aria heard.

For many years, I thought a poem was a whisper overheard, not an aria heard.

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...

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...

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...

Rap is only one end of a whole spectrum of verbal play and virtuosity. Rap...

Rap is only one end of a whole spectrum of verbal play and virtuosity. Rap...

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 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...