Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952 in Akron, Ohio, USA) is an African American United States poet and author. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995. August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The Rubber Capital of the World Location within the state of Ohio Country United States State Ohio County Summit Mayor Don Plusquellic (D) Area    - City 161. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... A poet is someone who writes poetry. ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ... The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress is appointed by the United States Librarian of Congress and earns a stipend of $35,000 a year. ... The Great Hall interior. ...

Life

Dove was born in Akron, Ohio in 1952. A 1970 Presidential Scholar, she graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Miami University and her MFA from the University of Iowa. She also held a Fulbright Scholarship at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Germany. For "America's Millennium", the White House's 1999/2000 New Year's celebration, Ms. Dove contributed — in a live reading at the Lincoln Memorial, accompanied by John Williams's music — a poem to Steven Spielberg's documentary The Unfinished Journey. The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nations most distinguished graduating high school seniors. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ... Miami University, founded in 1809, is the second-oldest public university west of the Allegheny Mountains and seventh-oldest public university in the United States. ... For alternate uses, see MFA (disambiguation). ... The University of Iowa is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... The Fulbright Program is program of educational grants (Fulbright Fellowships) sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. ... A view from the campus Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (German: Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, sometimes quotes as Eberhardina) is a public university located on the Neckar river, in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. ... The Lincoln Memorial at night. ... Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the recording of the score for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and producer. ...

Career

Dove is Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she lives with her husband, the writer Fred Viebahn. They have a grown daughter, Aviva Dove-Viebahn. She received her undergraduate degree in English in 1973 from Miami University of Ohio. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1977. Her most famous work is Thomas and Beulah, published by Carnegie Mellon University Press in 1986, a collection of poems based on the lives of her grandparents, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987. She taught creative writing at Arizona State University from 1981 to 1989. The University of Virginia (also called U.Va. ... Miami University, founded in 1809, is the second-oldest public university west of the Allegheny Mountains and seventh-oldest public university in the United States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... The University of Iowa is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the Iowa River in East Central Iowa. ... Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. ... Arizona State University (ASU) is a public institution of higher education and research with several campuses located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. ...

Dove served as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia. She has received numerous literary and academic honors, among them the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and, most recently, the 2006 Common Wealth Award, the 2003 Emily Couric Leadership Award, the 2001 Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award, the 1997 Sara Lee Frontrunner Award, the 1997 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, the 1996 Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities and the 1996 National Humanities Medal. Dove is also a role model to many people, especially teachers because she reaches out to them with her poetry. State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... The gold medal awarded for Public Service in Journalism The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ... A typical Barnes & Noble bookstore. ... The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities. ...

Bibliography

• American Smooth (poems). W.W. Norton, 2004.
• On the Bus with Rosa Parks (poems). W.W. Norton, 1999.
• Mother Love (poems). W. W. Norton, 1995.
• The Poet's World (essays). The Library of Congress, 1995.
• The Darker Face of the Earth (play). Story Line Press, 1994; revised 2nd ed., 1996; updated 3rd ed., 2000.
• Selected Poems. Pantheon/Vintage, 1993.
• Through the Ivory Gate (novel). Pantheon Books, 1992.
• Grace Notes (poems). W.W. Norton, 1989.
• Thomas and Beulah (poems). Carnegie Mellon, 1986.
• Fifth Sunday (short stories). Callaloo Fiction Series, 1985.
• Museum (poems). Carnegie Mellon, 1983.
• The Yellow House on the Corner (poems). Carnegie Mellon, 1980.

Quotes

• "I didn't know writers could be real live people, because I never knew any writers."
• "You have to imagine it's possible before you can see something."

External links

• The Rita Dove Homepage
• Rita Dove's comprehensive biography
• Rita Dove at the Academy of American Poets
• Rita Dove: Online Poems at Modern American Poetry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Rita Dove interview at Modern American Poetry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Poet Vision Presents: Rita Dove Reads Her Poetry Webcast (Library of Congress)