Rita Dove

(1989)
Commonwealth Professor
Poetry

Degrees

D. Litt. (Hon.), Miami U.-1988, Knox College-1989, Tuskegee U.-1994, U. of Miami-1994, Washington U.-1994, Case Western Reserve U.-1994, U. of Akron-1994, Arizona State U.-1995, Boston College-1995, Dartmouth College-1995, Spelman College-1996, U of Penn.-1996, U. North Carolina/Chapel Hill-1997, U. Notre Dame-1997, Northeastern U.-1997, Columbia U.-1998, State University of New York/Brockport-1999, Washington & Lee University-1999, Howard U.-2001, Pratt Institute-2001, Skidmore College-2004.

 

M.F.A., University of Iowa, 1977
B.A. (summa cum laude), Miami University, 1973

Interests

Ms. Dove was U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993-1995 and Special Consultant in Poetry for the Library of Congress bicentennial in 1999/2000 and, from 2004-2006, served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia. She won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in poetry for her book Thomas and Beulah. Her many other collections of poetry include American Smooth, Mother Love, On the Bus with Rosa Parks, Grace Notes and Selected Poems; she has also published a collection of stories, Fifth Sunday, a novel, Through the Ivory Gate, a collection of her Poet Laureate lectures, The Poet's World, and a verse drama, The Darker Face of the Earth, which had its premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1996 and was produced at the Kennedy Center and the Royal National Theatre, among others. Her song cycle, Seven For Luck, was set to music by John Williams and premiered at Tanglewood in 1998, and the following year she collaborated with John Williams and Steven Spielberg on "America's Millennium." Ms. Dove has received, in addition to 22 honorary doctorates and many other honors and awards, both Library Lion and Literary Lion citations from the New York Public Library, a Fund for New American Plays award from the Kennedy Center, the 1996 Heinz Award in the Arts, a 1996 National Humanities Medal from the White House, the 1997 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, the 2001 Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award in the Literary Arts, the 2003 Emily Couric Leadership Award and the 2006 Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service. Besides serving on the boards of numerous organizations, she was a senator of Phi Beta Kappa from 1994 to 2000 and president (1986-1987) of the Associated Writing Programs (the association of creative writers in American academia); currently (2006 to 2012) she is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She is a member of both PEN American Center and PEN U.S.A., the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
--see also www.people.virginia.edu/~rfd4b/

On-Line Projects

Lady Freedom Among Us (poem). The University of Virginia Libraries, 1994.

Books

  • The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century American Poetry (editor). Penguin, in progress
  • Het ademen, het eindeloze nieuws (selected poems, bilingual, with Dutch translation), Poezie Centrum, Gent, Belgium, 2006.
  • Stolen Time  (selected poems in Macedonian translation), Pleiades Edition, Struga Poetry Evenings series, Macedonia, 2005.
  • American Smooth (poems). W.W. Norton, 2004.
  • The Best American Poetry 2000 (editor). Scribner, 2000.
  • Breakfast of Champions (selected poems in Hebrew translation). Keshev/Tel Aviv, 2000.
  • On the Bus with Rosa Parks (poems). W.W. Norton, 1999.
  • Thomas et Beulah (poems - bilingual edition, English-French), L'Harmattan, 1999.
  • Evening Primrose (poems). Tanheim-Santrizos, 1998.
  • Det Rosa Er I Oss (selected poems in Norwegian translation). Det Norske Samlaget, 1996.
  • Mother Love (poems). W. W. Norton, 1995.
  • The Poet's World (essays). Library of Congress, 1995.
  • The Darker Face of the Earth (verse drama). Story Line Press, 1994 and 1996. 3rd, expanded edition 2000.
  • Lady Freedom Among Us (poem). Janus Press, 1994 (commissioned by the University of Virginia Library as its four-millionth volume)
  • Selected Poems. Pantheon/Vintage, 1993.
  • Selected Poems (audio book). Random House, 1993.
  • Through the Ivory Gate (novel). Pantheon Books, 1992.
  • Grace Notes (poems). W.W. Norton, 1989.
  • Die gläserne Stirn der Gegenwart (selected poems in German translation). Heiderhoff Verlag, 1989.
  • Die morgenländische Tänzerin (selected poems in German translation). Rowohlt Verlag, 1988.
  • 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.

Plays

The Darker Face of the Earth: Productions at Crossroads Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, and The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., Oct./Nov. 1997, the Royal National Theatre, London, August 1999, the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, March 2000, the Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, Sept. 2000, Take Wing and Soar Productions, Off-Broadway, New York City, Feb 2006; numerous college & university theatre productions.

Major Musical Collaborations

  • Reflections, music by Tania Leon, premiered by Son Sonora Ensemble at the Harlem Stage Theater, New York, November 2006.
  • Umoja - Each One Of Us Counts, music by Alvin Singleton, commissioned by the Atlanta Olympic Summer Games, July 1996, with Andrew Young as narrator. Also at Plymouth Music Series, Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, Feb. 1998, with the author as narrator. Also broadcast nationally on NPR.
  • Singin' Sepia, music by Tania Leon, premiered by Ensemble Continuum at Merkin Concert Hall, New York, February 1996.
  • Grace Notes, a song cycle for soprano, clarinet, vibraphone, cello, and piano, music by Bruce Adolph, premiered at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, January 1997.
  • The Pleasure's In Walking Through, composition by Walter Ross to poems by Rita Dove, sung by Rita Dove, Oratorio Society, Charlottesville Performing Arts Center, March 1998.
  • Seven for Luck, seven poems by Rita Dove with music by John Williams, The Boston Symphony, Cynthia Haymon, soprano, John Williams, conducting. Tanglewood, July 25, 1998. Also broadcast on select NPR stations.
  • Thomas and Beulah, music by Amnon Wolman; Cynthia Haymon, Soprano, Ursula Oppens, Piano, Amnon Wolman, Electronics, recorded live at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2002; includes multimedia-enhanced CD.

Audiovisual Productions

  • "Making History: A Conversation with Rita Dove and John Hope Franklin", filmed during the Virginia Festival of the Book on March 22, 2006, broadcast on C-SPAN.
  • Poetry Speaks to Children, Sourcebooks, includes CD with poems read by the poets, 2005.
  • Radio show "Poetica", reading of selected poems, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006.
  • Interview with John Birge and reading of several poems on radio show "Giving Thanks", broadcast on National Public Radio, Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005.
  • "Claudette Colvin Goes to Work" (song lyrics based on the poem, in collaboration with John McCutcheon). Sung by John McCutcheon on his CD Mightier Than the Sword, Appalsongs, 2006.
  • Interview in Discovery Channel series Language Arts at Work, 2005.
  • "East of the Blue Ridge", WCVT, March 3, 2000.
  • "The Unfinished Journey", collaboration with John Williams, Steven Spielberg, et al., America's Millennium, CBS, Dec. 31, 1999.
  • "Boston Pops," with John Williams, Rita Dove, Joshua Bell, Cynthia Haymon and the Boston Pops, filmed at the University of Virginia, Monticello and Boston Symphony Hall, PBS, July 27, 1998.
  • Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion," May 1994, Nov. 1994, Feb. 1998.
  • "In the Prime," PBS, 1997.
  • "Virginia Writers of Distinction: Rita Dove." Virginia Center for the Book, 1997.
  • Segments for "Virginia Currents," WHTJ, 1995 & 1997.
  • Interviews on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, Channel One, 1997.
  • "Sesame Street," segment with Big Bird, PBS, 1995.
  • "Bill Moyers' Journal: Poet Laureate Rita Dove," PBS, 1994.
  • "Shine Up Your Words: A Morning with Rita Dove," Virginia Center for the Book, 1994.
  • "Who's Afraid of Poetry?" (National Press Club), C-Span and NPR, 1994.
  • "A Conversation with Poet Laureate Rita Dove," Library of Congress, 1993.

Current Positions

  • Chancellor, Academy of American Poets, 2006 -
  • Juror, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, 1991 -
  • Advisory Board, The MacDowell Colony
  • Afro-American Studies Visiting Committee, Harvard University, since 1993
  • Advisory Board, Du Bois Center of American History & Culture, 2005 -
  • Advisory Board, The Givens Foundation for African American Literature
  • Board of Directors, Poetry Daily
  • Member, American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel
  • Advisory Board and Awards Jury, Student Achievement & Advocacy Services, 2002 -
  • Advisory Board, Thomas Jefferson Center for Freedom of Expression
  • Advisory Board, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
  • Advisory Board, Live Arts, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Fellow, Shannon Center for Advanced Studies, University of Virginia
  • Editorial Board, Iris
  • Contributing Editor, Meridian
  • Advisory Editor or Board – American Poetry Review, Bellingham Review, Callaloo, The Georgia Review, Gettysburg Review, Hunger Mountain, International Quarterly, Ploughshares, Mid-American Review, Poetry International, TriQuarterly

Honors

  • Chubb Fellow, Yale University, Fall 2007
  • Stellfox Prize, Dickinson College, 2006
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, April 2006 -
  • Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, Wilmington, DE, April 1, 2006
  • Grand Master Award, Writing Today Conference, Birmingham, AL, March 12, 2006
  • Nomination, 2005 Library of Virginia Literary Awards, for American Smooth
  • American Smooth selected one of the New York Times' "100 Notable Books of 2004"
  • American Smooth selected one of the New York Public Library's "Books to Remember from 2004"
  • Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 2004-2006
  • Emily Couric Leadership Award, 2003
  • Duke Ellington Lifetime Achievement Award, 2001
  • Commencement Speaker, Mary Baldwin College, 2001
  • Margaret Raynal Virginia Writer of Distinction, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, 2001
  • New York Public Library "Library Lion" medal, 2000
  • Ohioana Award, 2000
  • Special Consultant in Poetry, Library of Congress, 1999-2000
  • John Frederick Nims Translation Prize, together with Fred Viebahn, 1999
  • Levinson Prize, Poetry Magazine, 1998
  • Lyndon B. Johnson Lecturer, Southwest Texas State University, 1998
  • Sara Lee Frontrunner Award, 1997
  • Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, 1997
  • Chair, Poetry Jury, The 1997 Pulitzer Prizes
  • Featured author on Ugandan postage stamp, Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation, 1997
  • National Association of Women in Education (NAWE) Distinguished Woman Award, 1977
  • Charles Frankel Prize (National Humanities Medal), The White House & National Endowment of the Humanities, 1996
  • Heinz Award in the Arts, 1996
  • Host (with Jimmy Carter), gathering of Nobel Laureates in Literature, Cultural Olympiad, Atlanta 1995
  • Fund for New American Plays Award, The Kennedy Center, 1995
  • Renaissance Forum Award, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1994
  • Distinguished Achievement Medal, Miami University Alumni Association, 1994
  • Golden Plate Awards Council, American Academy of Achievement, 1994-2001
  • Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, 1994
  • Phi Beta Kappa Senator, 1994-2000
  • Ohioana Award, 1994
  • Carl Sandburg Award, International Platform Association, 1994
  • NAACP Great American Artist Award, 1993
  • Woman of the Year Award, Glamour Magazine, 1993
  • Virginia College Stores Association Book Award, 1993
  • Phi Beta Kappa poet, Harvard University, 1993
  • U.S. Poet Laureate/Consultant in Poetry, Library of Congress (1993-1995)
  • Literary Lion, New York Public Library, 1991
  • Ohioana Award, 1990
  • Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies, University of Virginia, 1989-1992
  • Mellon Fellow, National Humanities Center, 1988-1989
  • Bellagio Residency, The Rockefeller Foundation, 1988
  • Ohio Governor's Award, 1988
  • General Electric Foundation Award, 1987
  • Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, 1987
  • President, Associate Writing Programs, 1986-1987
  • Lavan Younger Poet Award, The Academy of American Poets, 1986
  • Callaloo Award, 1986
  • Chair, poetry grants panel, National Endowment for the Arts, 1985
  • Guggenheim Fellow, 1983-1984
  • Portia Pittman Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities, Tuskegee Institute, 1982
  • International Working Period for Authors Fellow, North-Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Culture and Universität Bielefeld, 1980
  • Ohio Arts Council Grant, 1979
  • National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, 1978, 1989
  • Fulbright Scholar, Universität Tübingen, 1974-1975
  • Phi Beta Kappa, 1973
  • Phi Kappa Phi, 1973
  • National Achievement Scholar, 1970-1973
  • Presidential Scholar, 1970

Major Scholarly Publications About Rita Dove's Work

  • Therese Steffen, Crossing Color-Transcultural Space and Place in Rita Dove's Poetry, Fiction, and Drama. Oxford University Press, 2001.
  • Earl G. Ingersoll, Conversations with Rita Dove. University Press of Mississippi, 2003.
  • Malin Pereira, Rita Dove's Cosmopolitanism. University of Illinois Press, 2003.
  • Pat Righelato, Understanding Rita Dove. University of South Carolina Press, July 2006.

More information is available at Rita Dove's home page: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rfd4b/