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

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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...

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...

What writing does is to reveal.

What writing does is to reveal.

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...

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...

If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively...

If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively...

I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered...

I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered...

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...

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.

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.

I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.

I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.

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...

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

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.

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...

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...

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 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....

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...