The sound of the mandolin is a very curious sound because it's cheerful and melancholy at the same time, and I think it comes from that shadow string, the double strings.
Rita DoveIt's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.
Rita DovePeople write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I found that immensely valuable.
Rita DoveI believe people may have a predisposition for artistic creativity. It doesn't mean they're going to make it.
Rita Dove