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
There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry. – Rita Dove
Have you ever heard a good joke? If youve ever heard someone just right, with the right pacing, then youre already on the way to poetry. Its about using words in very precise ways and using gesture. – Rita Dove
I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding. – Rita Dove
Practical life teaches us that people may differ and that both may be wrong: it also teaches us that people may differ and both be right. Anchor yourself fast in the latter faith, or the former will sweep your heart away. – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers