I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age. – Rita Dove
I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I think those are the two elements of poetry. – Rita Dove
Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to talk with children, to teachers, and make sure they get poetry in the curriculum early. – Rita Dove
The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and Ive seen ecstasy or something. – Rita Dove