Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we are called upon to be more.
Rita DoveAll of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.
Rita DoveFor years, I had heard about the lack of interest in literature in the U.S. and I had complained about the lack of respect artists got here. In my heart, I failed to understand how people could fail to be moved by art.
Rita DoveI was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?
Rita DoveWe tend to be so bombarded with information, and we move so quickly, that there's a tendency to treat everything on the surface level and process things quickly. This is antithetical to the kind of openness and perception you have to have to be receptive to poetry.poetry seems to exist in a parallel universe outside daily life in America.
Rita Dove