You have to imagine it possible before you can see something. You can have the evidence right in front of you, but if you can't imagine something that has never existed before, it's impossible.

Quote by Rita Dove

Topics: Rita Dove Quotes

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 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.

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...

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every...

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every...

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...

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 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...

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...

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.

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 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...

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...

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...

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...