Combination Quote by Rita Dove

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

It is a tremendous honor to be named poet laureate, but one that I find humbling as well, because it's the kind of thing…

— Natasha Trethewey

To be poet laureate is to try to spread the love and the accessibility of poetry to young people.

— Jacqueline Woodson

Those who say we should dismantle the role of Poet Laureate altogether, the trick they miss is that being called this thing, with the…

— Andrew Motion

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a…

— Rita Dove

What's really funny about being National Youth Poet Laureate is that not everyone even knows it exists.

— Amanda Gorman

I share my life experiences as a poet with my students. My poetic difficulties, joys, struggles and discoveries. If I read a new poem…

— Dorianne Laux

I've written on public matters, but I don't understand how anyone could tout me as a possible poet laureate when I wrote a poem…

— Tony Harrison

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

What excites me is that I'm an ambassador for poetry, which is something that I wholeheartedly believe in and that has been an anchor…

— Tracy K. Smith

Because I'm a younger laureate, it seemed important to me to do something - not to just accept the honor of the position, but…

— Natasha Trethewey

Poetry is at the centre of my life, too, emotionally speaking, and intellectually speaking - it's just that I'm one of those people who…

— Andrew Motion