--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least…" description: "\"I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.\" — Rita Dove" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg" --- # I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will… ![“I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg) > “I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even after major achievements, life can still surprise with unexpected wonder. **In simple terms:** Surprises continue after big successes. Key Takeaway Stay open to new wonders. Themes expectation surprise achievement Mood hopeful contemplative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - career milestones - personal growth - daily life - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism joy of discovery Questions to Reflect On - What surprise has reshaped your outlook? - How do you balance achievement with curiosity? A Different Perspective Surprises may be fleeting; lasting fulfillment requires deeper meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pulitzer Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulitzer-surprise-4492599/) [Quite Amazing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-amazing-355516/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Surprise me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise-me/) [Surprise Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise-quite-4492601/) [Thought Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-pulitzer-4492600/) ## Related quotes > [I actually went to Wimbledon, and David Attenborough was sat in the row in front of me, and I thought that was quite amazing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/i-actually-went-to-wimbledon-and-david-attenborough-was-sat-in-the/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [It was quite amazing that we came out of it alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nyro/it-was-quite-amazing-that-we-came-out-of-it-alive/) [Laura Nyro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nyro/) > [People do things which I find quite amazing - things I would never have done and can't understand very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/people-do-things-which-i-find-quite-amazing-things-i-would-never-have/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Mammootty sir is an idol for me.. His uniqueness in developing characters is quite amazing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aamir-khan/mammootty-sir-is-an-idol-for-me-his-uniqueness-in-developing/) [Aamir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aamir-khan/) > [Yes, it's quite amazing how I continue to shock my mother even after all these years together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/yes-it-s-quite-amazing-how-i-continue-to-shock-my-mother-even-after/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [It's quite amazing how tattoos in general have been more and more accepted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-lamas/it-s-quite-amazing-how-tattoos-in-general-have-been-more-and-more/) [Lorenzo Lamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-lamas/) > [There are no rules when it comes to love. I just try to let love surprise me because you never know who you’re going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/there-are-no-rules-when-it-comes-to-love-i-just-try-to-let-love/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I love the sea's sounds and the way it reflects the sky. The colours that shimmer across its surface are unbelievable. This, combined with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/i-love-the-sea-s-sounds-and-the-way-it-reflects-the-sky-the-colours/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [It surprises me how often we hold ourselves back until we have no choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/it-surprises-me-how-often-we-hold-ourselves-back-until-we-have-no/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) > [If I've learned anything in twenty-nine years, it's that every human being you see in the course of a day has a problem that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/if-i-ve-learned-anything-in-twenty-nine-years-it-s-that-every-human/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [What surprises me is when people give me their mobile number. The other day, someone on a bus asked if I swear. I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-parker/what-surprises-me-is-when-people-give-me-their-mobile-number-the/) [Christopher Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-parker/) > [What surprises me most in architecture, as in other techniques, is that a project has one life in its built state but another in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-rossi/what-surprises-me-most-in-architecture-as-in-other-techniques-is-that/) [Aldo Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-rossi/) > [GOOD AS NEW was born out of the idea of writing a play where the stakes were high and the collisions were of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/good-as-new-was-born-out-of-the-idea-of-writing-a-play-where-the/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I find no change of consequence in grown people, I do not miss the dead. It does not surprise me to hear that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-find-no-change-of-consequence-in-grown-people-i-do-not-miss-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## More Happened quotes > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [How come I end up where I started How come I end up where I belong... You used to be alright What happened?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/how-come-i-end-up-where-i-started-how-come-i-end-up-where-i-belong/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [When I was a sophomore at USC, I was a socialist, pretty much to the left. But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [When you begin your work, nothing exists. When it is finished it looks as if it just happened, spontaneously, effortlessly, convincingly. It looks as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/when-you-begin-your-work-nothing-exists-when-it-is-finished-it-looks/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) [Browse all 5,722 Happened quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rita Dove" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-nothing-will-surprise-me-quite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happened" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-nothing-will-surprise-me-quite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/rita-dove-4855_happened_i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-no_2146254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one…” — Rita Dove", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rita Dove", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I thought, after the Pulitzer, at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-nothing-will-surprise-me-quite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-thought-after-the-pulitzer-at-least-nothing-will-surprise-me-quite/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```