Rita Dove

I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in…

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

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

I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I…

Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to…

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

What is ironic is that Allen Ginsberg’s importance was in its twilight for so many…

Have you ever heard a good joke? If you’ve ever heard someone just right, with…

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful…

You have to imagine it possible before you can see something. You can have the…

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

I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects…

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

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the…

The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds…