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 DoveI 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.
Rita DoveI see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding.
Rita DoveI was not interested in doing the plot of Oedipus in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they hadn't been in that situation?... One could look at Oedipus, or at my character Augustus, as a cynical schemer who did everything because he was hungry for power. But that's just too easy. I'm more interested in how humans can embody conflicting goals and emotions.
Rita Dove