People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should… — 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.… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems than favorite poets. — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet. — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet Laureates had been considerably older than I.… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
We tend to be so bombarded with information, and we move so quickly, that there's a tendency to treat everything on the… — Rita Dove Copy Share Image
It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate. — 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
