To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is really going to matter to anyone else. It has to matter to you.
Rita DoveIf weโre going to solve the problems of the world, we have to learn how to talk to one another. Poetry is the language at its essence. Itโs the bones and the skeleton of the language. It teaches you, if nothing else, how to choose your words.
Rita DoveEquality and self-determination should never be divided in the name of religious or ideological fervor.
Rita DoveIt's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.
Rita Dove