Written By: Marcus Helminiak
On Monday, September 25th, Lycoming College was honored to host a reading by internationally acclaimed poet Rita Dove. Dove held a private Q&A for Creative Writing and English majors at 2:00 p.m. and a public reading at 7:30 p.m. in the Trogner Presentation Room in the Krapf Gateway Center.
Rita Dove is one of the most celebrated poets alive today, with a career spanning over 40 years and awards on every level of professional achievement. She was the first African American woman to serve as the United States's Poet Laureate and has recently received two more lifetime achievement awards: the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Poetry Foundation and the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress.
At the private talk, Dove spoke of her creative process and how important it is for people to allow their passion to talk through their works. At the public event, she read poems from her storied career, including several from her newest book, Playlist for the Apocalypse. Playlist is Dove's first book of entirely new poems in over a decade, and it focuses on American history, from its prominent figures to the quiet moments captured by a working mother. After the reading, Dove stayed to sell various volumes of her work, sign autographs, and answer questions.