To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and I've seen ecstasy or… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
We should always do something that makes us feel like a child again. Keep learning, no matter what it is. — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
My best times are midnight to six actually. I'll leaf through my notebooks and if something catches my eye and I feel… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
From the time I began to read, as a child, I loved to feel their heft in my hand and the warm… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can’t imagine a… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
I never think of my audience when I write a poem. I try to write out of whatever is haunting me; in… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them. — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation. — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
