The event is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, and the doors will open at 6:30 pm.

Recipient of many of the nation's highest cultural honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, the NAACP Great American Artist Award and the National Humanities Medal, Dove is an American treasure. She served as the U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995, the youngest person ever to be elected to that office.

Dove's visit is supported by Afro-American Studies, American Studies, English Department, Lecture Committee, and the Program for the Study of Women and Gender.

For more information, please consult the news release on the Smith College website, the Smith College Poetry Center website, or Rita Dove's Home Page.

Link to past SC Libraries Poetry Center Readings resource pages.

Dove's body of work has won wide critical praise and reflects her interest in music and drama, as well as her commitment to social justice and her sensitivity to women's issues.

She has published six collections of poetry, including Thomas and Beulah (1986), Grace Notes (1989), Selected Poems (1993), On the Bus with Rosa Parks (1999), and American Smooth (2004). In addition, she is the author of a book of short stories, a novel, a volume of essays, and the play The Darker Face of the Earth. Seven for Luck, a song cycle for soprano and orchestra with music by John Williams, was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1998. She is the editor of Best American Poetry 2000, and from January 2000 to January 2002 she wrote a weekly column, "Poet's Choice", for The Washington Post.

Dove's most recent book of poems, Sonata Mulattica (2009), dramatizes the life of violinist George Polgreen Bridgetower (1780-1860).

Search by author <Dove, Rita> to find books in the Five College Library Catalog.

Please note: Some links from this page are available to all without restriction. Others are restricted for off-campus access to Smith students, faculty, and staff. To connect, enter your Smith Network username and password when requested.

Biography

Biography in Context
Includes Reference sources, News, Magazines & Journal entries.

Online Texts

 Expanded Academic Index
 Search by keyword for <Rita Dove> to find or link to poems, articles, and reviews.
 Use SCLinks to connect to full text.

Internet Resources

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