There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.
Rita DoveRead
I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker expresses concern that discussions about poetry will be overshadowed by societal factors such as race, gender, and age.
Rita Dove reflects on her apprehension regarding the interpretation of her poetry, worried that it might be viewed strictly through the confines of identity categories like race, sex, and age. This highlights a common struggle for artists and writers, who often seek to be understood on the merits of their work rather than being reduced to the identities they embody. Dove's fears speak to a larger conversation about intersectionality and the complexities of personal and artistic expression in a divided society.
Themes
PoetryRaceIdentityExpressionArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a poetry reading event, one could use this quote to spark a discussion on how identity shapes artistic expression.
More from Rita Dove
All quotes →Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.
Rita DoveRead
As an African-American, as a woman, I think that I've been sensitized to the way in which history privileges the white male and the way in which certain aspects of history, the things that we are taught in school, the things that are handed down, never, never entered the picture though they might have been very important.
Rita DoveRead
If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can’t imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America’s alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart — and then to discover that one is not alone in ones feelings.
Rita DoveRead
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.
Rita DoveRead
Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.
Rita DoveRead
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