Dove, Rita
1952-present · Contribution: 1980-present
Poetry, fiction, drama, and essays; best known for 'Thomas and Beulah' (1986), a poem cycle based on her grandparents' lives set against the Great Migration and the civil rights era
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1987) — the second African American to do so — and served as U.S. Poet Laureate (1993-1995), the first African American and (then) youngest to hold the post; the only poet to receive both the National Humanities Medal (1996) and the National Medal of Arts (2011).
Life & background
African-American poet and essayist born Aug 28, 1952 in Akron, OH. MFA, Iowa Writers' Workshop (1977); Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Poet Laureate of Virginia (2004-2006).
Sources
- The Poetry Foundation; Encyclopædia Britannica; The Pulitzer Prizes
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