Rita Dove Quotes


Related Quotes

The Governor had just ordered the withdrawal of the State from the “Common Core” national educational standards and testing program. Louisiana has always had a relatively poor education system and the test scores of Louisiana Students were very poor compared with students from other states. However, this was embarrassing, and instead of trying to improve the education in the State, the Governor wanted the State to have their own tests so they could lower the standards and appear to have better results in percentage of students passing. The State Superintendent of Education, however, claimed the Governor did not have the authority to withdraw from the common core, and a political and legal battle began.


Rita Dove
Rita Dove
  • Born: August 28, 1952
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Poet, Author, University Professor

Rita Frances Dove is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937–86). Dove also received an appointment as "special consultant in poetry" for the Library of Congress's bicentennial year from 1999 to 2000. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Since 1989, she has been teaching at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she holds the chair of Commonwealth Professor of English.