I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet Laureates had been considerably older than I. It was not something that I even had begun to dream about!

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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...

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...

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...

Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to...

Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to...

I loved to read, but I always thought that the dream was too far away....

I loved to read, but I always thought that the dream was too far away....

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...

I write short stories, and I wrote a play.

I write short stories, and I wrote a play.

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...

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.

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,...

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...

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.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

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 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.

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....

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...

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...