The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and I've seen ecstasy or something.

quote by Rita Dove
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Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.

quote by Rita Dove
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I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age.

quote by Rita Dove
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I have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50 or 60 drafts. It can take from a day to two years-or longer.

quote by Rita Dove
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I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that color that day.

quote by Rita Dove
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I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding.

quote by Rita Dove
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In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things.

quote by Rita Dove
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I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the ability to make utter strangers come alive.

quote by Rita Dove
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I loved to read, but I always thought that the dream was too far away. The person who had written the book was a god, it wasn't a person.

quote by Rita Dove
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If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively reading, I don't think they're really a writer.

quote by Rita Dove
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