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In her introduction to the
Best American Poetry of 2000

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Rita Dove writes,
"when I'm called upon

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to introduce a poetry
reading I quake."

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"I quake", she says, "for
it is the introducer's role

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to strike an artful balance
between the obligatory signing

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of credentials and
awards"-- which of course,

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in Rita Dove's case,
are considerable--

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"and evoking an
anticipatory mood,

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clearing a space in
our quotidian world

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for what might lead to
the rapture of discovery."

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So with that in mind, and
with the understanding

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that this is a communal
endeavor, what stage shall

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we set for Rita
Dove to step onto?

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Rita Dove is a dancer.

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This is a fact widely circulated
in interviews and articles,

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but I have it, the first-hand
account of this from our very

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own Lois and Dick
Shelton, who recall a turn

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or two she made on
their living room floor.

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"American Smooth", her most
recent collection of poetry

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is an important tribute
to ballroom dancing,

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but it's also about
caring oneself

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with grace and
even a little glee

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through times of
turmoil and unrest.

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As with much of her
poetry, "American Smooth"

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is a patient by
history and mythology.

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But in this book,
there is something new,

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an openness of movement coupled
with the poetry of the moment

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from which it Dove
elicits the momentos.

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Rita Dove is a musician.

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She draws music from the
cello, the old gamba,

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and from her own chords, and
that's her soprano voice.

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And of course, from language.

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Dove, aesthetically
rooted in the lyric,

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is also a lyricist, providing
words for such composers

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as John Williams, Tanya
Young and Bruce Adolphe.

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And she's also a
novelist and a dramatist.

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In fact, her play, The
Darker Face of the Earth,

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has been performed on
such prestigious stages

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as at Kennedy
Center in Washington

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and the Royal National
Theater in London.

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And she's currently at work
on some new theater pieces.

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The recipient of a
glittering array of prizes,

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including the Pulitzer
for Thomas and Beulah,

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and 21 honorary doctorates,
I'm wondering if, in this case,

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this is the literary equivalent
to the 21-gun salute.

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[LAUGHTER]

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She was United States poet
laureate from 1993 to 1995.

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She's now poet laureate
of the State of Virginia

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where she is Commonwealth
professor of English

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at the University of Virginia.

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And in this moment, she
is the esteemed guest

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of the Poetry
Center who has come

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to Tucson with her
gracious gift of words.

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Please welcome Rita Dove.

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[APPLAUSE]

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