If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively reading, I don't think they're really a writer.

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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 write short stories, and I wrote a play.

I write short stories, and I wrote a play.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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 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 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...

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 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...

My father is a chemist, my mother was a homemaker. My parents instilled in us...

My father is a chemist, my mother was a homemaker. My parents instilled in us...

If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice...

If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice...

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....

I didn't know writers could be real live people, because I never knew any writers.

I didn't know writers could be real live people, because I never knew any writers.

What writing does is to reveal.

What writing does is to reveal.

I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet...

I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet...