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Rita Dove

Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prize winner and former U. S. Poet Laureate, is the only poet honored with both the National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts. Her recent works include Playlist for the Apocalypse, Sonata Mulattica, and the National Book Award-shortlisted Collected Poems: 1974-2004. In 2021 she was awarded the Gold Medal for Poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2023 she received the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives in Charlottesville, where she teaches creative writing at the University of Virginia.

Rita Dove

Awards

Commended — New York Times Notable Selection, 1999

Shortlisted — National Book Critics Circle Award, 1999

Winner — New York Times Notable Selection, 2004

Winner — Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, 2010

Nominated — NAACP Image Award, 2017

Shortlisted — National Book Award, 2016

Winner — Library of Virginia Literary Award, 2017

Shortlisted — NAACP Image Award, 2022

Shortlisted — Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 2021

Shortlisted — Library of Virginia Literary Award, 2022

Books by Rita Dove

Grace Notes: Poems
Rita Dove
Paperback, 1991
With this her fourth book of poems, Rita Dove expands her role as a leading voice in contemporary American letters.
Mother Love: Poems
Rita Dove
Paperback, 1996
Calling upon the ancient Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, Mother Love examines the love between mother and daughter, two tumblers locked in an eternal somersault: each mother a daughter, each...
On the Bus with Rosa Parks: Poems
Rita Dove
Paperback, 2000
A dazzling new collection by the former Poet Laureate of the United States.
American Smooth: Poems
Rita Dove
Paperback, 2006
"Rita Dove pulls the ultimate dance trick: she makes it look easy."--New York Times Book Review
Sonata Mulattica: Poems
Rita Dove
Paperback, 2010
Detailing the volatile relationship between the black violinist George Bridgetower and Beethoven, this is a "masterful collection" (Los Angeles Times).
Collected Poems: 1974–2004
Rita Dove
Hardback, 2016
Three decades of powerful lyric poetry from a virtuoso of the English language in one unabridged volume.
Collected Poems: 1974–2004
Rita Dove
Paperback, 2017
Three decades of powerful lyric poetry from a virtuoso of the English language in one unabridged volume.
Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems
Rita Dove
Hardback, 2021
A piercing, unflinching new volume offers necessary music for our tumultuous present, from “perhaps the best public poet we have” (The Boston Globe).
On the Bus with Rosa Parks: Poems
Rita Dove
E Book, 2015
A dazzling new collection by the former Poet Laureate of the United States.
Sonata Mulattica: Poems
Rita Dove
E Book, 2015
Detailing the volatile relationship between the black violinist George Bridgetower and Beethoven, this is a "masterful collection" (Los Angeles Times).