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

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...

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...

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...

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the...

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the...

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...

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...

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...

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 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 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 write short stories, and I wrote a play.

I write short stories, and I wrote a play.

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...

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...

What writing does is to reveal.

What writing does is to reveal.

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....

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...

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....

There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.

There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.

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 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...