Rita Dove

"I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding."

"I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing."

"I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I think those are the two elements of poetry."

"I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age."

"Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is, you need to talk with children, to teachers, and make sure they get poetry in the curriculum early."

"Nothing is too small. Nothing is too, quote-unquote, ordinary or insignificant. Those are the things that make up the measure of our days, and they're the things that sustain us. And they're the things that certainly can become worthy of poetry."

"Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful."

"The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and I've seen ecstasy or something."

"There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry."