America's Book Club: Rita Dove on Poetry Editors
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- Publish Date:
- 24 December, 2025
- Category:
- CSpan
- Video License
- Standard License
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- Youtube
Rita Dove describes the relationship she has with her editors.
David Rubenstein: "If you're have won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry and you're the Poet Laureate of the United States, is somebody really going to edit your poetry? And and I mean, don't they doesn't it take a lot of, gumption to be able to say 'I'm editing the poetry of a poet laureate of the United States?' What do you say to them? You ever say, by the way, I'm the poet laureate, and I've won a Pulitzer Prize. You don't say that?"
Rita Dove: "I don't say that. But I will say, you know, I will say, you know, 'no, it's got to stay as it is.' And one of the biggest, the problems or things that I struggle with is exactly that, that no one will tell me if, if it works or not for them. So that, I tend to take a lot more time now before I show it to anyone. I want to make sure it's it's really what I wanted. My best editor is my husband."
SUNDAY: America's Book Club with Rita Dove – 6pm ET on C-SPAN
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David Rubenstein: "If you're have won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry and you're the Poet Laureate of the United States, is somebody really going to edit your poetry? And and I mean, don't they doesn't it take a lot of, gumption to be able to say 'I'm editing the poetry of a poet laureate of the United States?' What do you say to them? You ever say, by the way, I'm the poet laureate, and I've won a Pulitzer Prize. You don't say that?"
Rita Dove: "I don't say that. But I will say, you know, I will say, you know, 'no, it's got to stay as it is.' And one of the biggest, the problems or things that I struggle with is exactly that, that no one will tell me if, if it works or not for them. So that, I tend to take a lot more time now before I show it to anyone. I want to make sure it's it's really what I wanted. My best editor is my husband."
SUNDAY: America's Book Club with Rita Dove – 6pm ET on C-SPAN
Download the FREE C-SPAN Now App.
Discover the C-SPAN Video Library at
Explore C-SPAN's Free Educational Resources at
C-SPAN: Created by Cable in 1979. Offered as a public service.
Support C-SPAN by Donating Today:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel:
Follow us:
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By: C-SPAN
Title: America's Book Club: Rita Dove on Poetry Editors
Sourced From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhc9lFk9IUI
