“It makes me furious to hear haters of all skin colors - especially Christian, Jewish, and Muslim fundamentalists - deride other people because of their different beliefs and lifestyles.” PeopleDifferentChristianBeliefColorSkinsLifestyleFuriousSkin ColorDifferent Beliefs Author:Rita Dove
“I never think of my audience when I write a poem. I try to write out of whatever is haunting me; in order for a poem to feel authentic, I have to feel I'm treading on very dangerous ground, which can mean that the resulting revelations may prove hurtful to other people. The time for thinking about that kind of guilt or any collective sense of responsibility, however, occurs much later in the creative process, after the poem is finished.” PeopleThinkingFeelsWritingTryingKindMayMeanOrderProcessResponsibilityAudienceCreativeDangerousProveGuiltFinishedRevelationsCollectivesCreative ProcessHauntingHurtfulSense Of ResponsibilityTreading Author:Rita Dove
“For 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.” PeopleYearsArtLiteratureInterestFailingHeardMoved Author:Rita Dove
“The American Dream is a phrase we'll have to wrestle with all of our lives. It means a lot of things to different people. I think we're redefining it now” PeopleThinkingMeanDifferentDreamOur LivesPhrasesAmerican DreamDifferent PeoplesRedefining Author:Rita Dove
“I believe people may have a predisposition for artistic creativity. It doesn't mean they're going to make it.” PeopleBelieveMayMeanI BelieveCreativityArtisticMean PeopleArtistic Creativity Author:Rita Dove
“I didn't know writers could be real live people, because I never knew any writers.” PeopleKnowsRealBeing Real Author:Rita Dove
“I grew up in Ohio, where civil-rights accomplishments had already begun to accelerate before Martin Luther King appeared. In hindsight, we know that many people, black and white, were instrumental in changing the Jim Crow status quo on all levels.” PeopleKnowsBlackWhiteLevelsRightsGrewKingsGrew UpCivil RightsAccomplishmentBlack And WhiteStatus QuoLutherCrowOhioHindsightAccelerateJim CrowChallenging Status QuoChallenging The Status Quo Author:Rita Dove
“People 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.” PeopleThinkingShouldWritingCountrySometimesFoundPoetAskingValuable Author:Rita Dove
“I 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.” PeopleIfsHumansLooksHas BeensCharacterEasyGoalEmotionSituationWonderHungryCraftsPlotCynicalNot InterestedAugustusOedipusBlackface Author:Rita Dove
