WRITER

Rita Dove

1952 - Today

Photo of Rita Dove

Icon of person Rita Dove

Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937–86). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Rita Dove has received more than 410,828 page views. Her biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2019). Rita Dove is the 7,044th most popular writer (down from 6,330th in 2019), the 16,035th most popular biography from United States (down from 15,013th in 2019) and the 1,120th most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 410k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 34.36

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 1.71

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.83

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The yellow house on the corner
Women authors, American poetry, African American authors
American Smooth
African Americans, American National characteristics, Poetry
An occasion to celebrate: a new collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning former poet laureate; her first since *On the Bus with Rosa Parks*. With the grace of an Astaire, Rita Dove's magnificent poems pay homage to our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage; from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail; from paradise lost to angel food cake; from hotshots at the local shooting range to the Negro jazz band in World War I whose music conquered Europe before the Allied advance. Like the ballroom-dancing couple of the title poem, smiling and making the difficult seem effortless, Dove explores the shifting surfaces between perception and intimation.
Through the ivory gate
African American families, Fiction, African American women
Mother Love
Mother-daughter relationship, Poetry, American poetry
The darker face of the earth
Drama, Mothers and sons, Slaves

Page views of Rita Doves by language

Over the past year Rita Dove has had the most page views in the with 46,631 views, followed by Spanish (1,200), and Russian (1,191). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Simple English (140.85%), Swahili (76.70%), and Egyptian Arabic (66.15%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Rita Dove ranks 7,044 out of 7,302Before her are Lucille Clifton, Justin Knapp, Arno Geiger, Hanne Ørstavik, Tahereh Mafi, and Koenraad Elst. After her are Gregory Maguire, Mike Reiss, Viet Thanh Nguyen, James Gould Cozzens, Grace Ogot, and Sherman Alexie.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1952, Rita Dove ranks 769Before her are Bob Corker, Tom McMillen, George Allen, Helen Dunmore, Spencer Abraham, and Peter Tatchell. After her are Urvashi Butalia, William F. Readdy, Armelia McQueen, Christine Prinsloo, Joe Johnson, and Medea Benjamin.

Others Born in 1952

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Rita Dove ranks 16,035 out of 20,380Before her are Tahereh Mafi (1988), DeAnna Price (1993), Wes Ball (1980), Nicholas Britell (1980), Eva Bowring (1892), and John Grant (1968). After her are Young Buck (1981), David Smith (1985), Charles King (1895), Robin Weigert (1969), Roxana Saberi (1977), and Antawn Jamison (1976).

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Rita Dove ranks 1,120Before her are George Will (1941), Geoff Johns (1973), Walt Dohrn (1970), Lucille Clifton (1936), Justin Knapp (1982), and Tahereh Mafi (1988). After her are Gregory Maguire (1954), Mike Reiss (1959), James Gould Cozzens (1903), Sherman Alexie (1966), Kenneth Turan (1946), and Edward P. Jones (1950).