To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is really going to matter to anyone else. It has to matter to you.

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...

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.

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,...

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....

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...

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...

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

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...

Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with...

Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy...

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy...

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....

One definition of eternity is that we are not alone on this planet, that there...

One definition of eternity is that we are not alone on this planet, that there...

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...