My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems than favorite poets.

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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.

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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.

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...

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...

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

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...

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...

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.

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...

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....

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 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...

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....

Under adversity, under oppression, the words begin to fail, the easy words begin to fail....

Under adversity, under oppression, the words begin to fail, the easy words begin to fail....