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Rita Dove

リタ・フランセス・ドーヴ

Rita Frances Dove

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1952-08-28 （Akron, Ohio, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Akron, Ohio → Oberlin, Ohio → Phoenix, Arizona → Charlottesville, Virginia → Germany (Tübingen, etc.)

Career

Occupations
poet, author, university professor
Active Years
1973-
Affiliations
University of Virginia (Professor of English / Creative Writing), Arizona State University (former faculty), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (member), American Academy of Arts and Letters (member, vice president for literature)
Memberships
American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fellowship of Southern Writers, PEN American Center
Influenced By
Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes
Influenced
Amanda Gorman, Many contemporary American poets (younger generations)

Education

Miami University
Degree: BA
Period: 1969–1973
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United States
Graduated summa cum laude
University of Tübingen (Fulbright Scholar)
Period: 1974–1975
Country: Germany
Studied on a Fulbright Scholarship
University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop)
Degree: MFA
Period: 1975–1977
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: United States
Received MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1987
Work: Thomas and Beulah
Organization: Pulitzer Prize committee
Result: winner
United States Poet Laureate (Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry)
1993
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: appointed (1993–1995)
National Humanities Medal
1996
Organization: United States (President)
Result: recipient
National Medal of Arts
2011
Organization: United States (President)
Result: recipient
Wallace Stevens Award
2019
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: recipient
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
2022
Organization: Poetry Foundation
Result: recipient
Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry
2022
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: recipient
National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2023
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Thomas and Beulah

1986 poetry collection 80 pages

A linked collection of poems loosely based on the lives of Dove's maternal grandparents, exploring family history, memory, love and loss.

familymemoryAfrican American history
Translations
  • Available in German translation
  • Available in Spanish translation

Sonata Mulattica

2009 long-form poetry / poetry collection 224 pages

An ambitious collection that intertwines music, race and identity through extended poetic narratives centered on historical musicians.

musicrace and identityhistorical reconstruction
Translations
  • Available in German translation

Playlist for the Apocalypse

2021 poetry collection 112 pages

A collection from 2021 that contemplates history, personal loss, and contemporary culture with wit and precision.

historymortalitycontemporary culture

The Darker Face of the Earth

1994 play (verse drama)

A verse play addressing race, violence and history; premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and staged internationally.

racehistoryviolence and memory
Adaptations
  • [theatre] The Darker Face of the Earth (stage production) (1996)

Bibliography

  • The Yellow House on the Corner (1980)
  • Museum (1983)
  • Thomas and Beulah (1986)
  • Fifth Sunday (short fiction, 1985)
  • Through the Ivory Gate (novel, 1992)
  • Collected Poems 1974–2004 (2016)
  • Playlist for the Apocalypse (2021)

Adaptations

  • Documentary 'Rita Dove: An American Poet'

Translations of Works

  • Works translated into German, Chinese, Spanish, and others

Style & Themes

Literary Style
precise, restrained languagetechnique that expands into narrative long poems and sequencesfusion of history and personal memory
Recurring Motifs
family historymusic and musiciansAfrican American experience

Legacy

One of the leading figures in contemporary American poetry. Through her writing, public advocacy for poetry, teaching and editorial work, she has had broad influence and earned numerous honors and lifetime achievement awards.

Academic Societies

  • American Philosophical Society
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Archives and materials held at the University of Virginia

In Popular Culture

  • Included in curricula (e.g., 'Cozy Apologia' included in GCSE poetry anthology)
  • Appearances in documentary films and public readings

Quotes

  • "The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the soul and a door onto the world."
    Source: Inscription at the entrance to the Maine State Library (attributed to Rita Dove) (2014)

Trivia

  • Her husband, Fred Viebahn, is a German-born writer; the couple are avid ballroom dancers.
  • The Rita Dove Poetry Award at Salem College was established in 2004.