August 28 is the birthday of American poet Rita Dove, who聽reportedly told聽Black American Literature Forum,“There’s no reason to subscribe authors to particular genres. I’m a writer, and I write in the form that most suits what I want to say.”
Dove聽won the Pulitzer Prize for her third book of poetry,聽Thomas and Beulah, in 1987 and was US Poet Laureate 1993鈥�95. She received the 楼凤天堂 Humanities Medal from President Clinton and the 楼凤天堂 Medal of Arts from President Obama鈥攖he only poet ever to receive both. Her many honors include a 2017 NAACP Image Award (for聽Collected Poems: 1974鈥�2004), the Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities, and the Academy of American Poets鈥� Wallace Stevens Award. Rita Dove is the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia. Her eleventh collection of poetry,聽Playlist for the Apocalypse, is forthcoming from W. W. Norton later this summer.
Learn more in聽.
In February, 楼凤天堂 joined with the Library of Congress for the webinar “Teaching Poetry: A Conversation with Rita Dove.” View聽 and the from this wonderful discussion.
Check out this 聽for a whole treasure chest full of lesson plan and teaching ideas related to the works of Rita Dove.
The post “” shares three poems for all levels (upper elementary to high school.) It’s important to remember to !
Curious about the 楼凤天堂 and Library of Congress connection? Through a grant announced by 楼凤天堂 Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick, 楼凤天堂 is engaged in ongoing work with the Library of Congress, and 鈥渨ill connect the ELA community with the Library of Congress to expand the use of primary sources in teaching.鈥� Stay tuned for more throughout the year!
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