Rita Dove To Receive National Medal of Arts Monday
Late-breaking news from the White House (really!): President Obama will award U.Va. English professor Rita Dove (right) the National Medal of Arts on Monday afternoon.
Dove — the former U.S. Poet Laureate — is to be among eight recipients of the award. Others include actor Al Pacino and classical pianist Andre’ Watts. Obama will also hand out nine National Humanities Medals. The event begins at 1:45 p.m. and will be streamed live online here.
The White House press release says Dove is being honored “for her contributions as an American poet and author. Ms. Dove creates works that are equal parts beauty, lyricism, critique, and politics. Ms. Dove has worked to create popular interest in the literary arts, serving as the United States’ youngest Poet Laureate and advocating on behalf of the diversity and vitality of American poetry and literature.”
Dove, Commonwealth Professor of English, is only the ninth poet to receive the award, and is the youngest. In 1996, she received the other major presidential lifetime achievement award, the National Humanities Medal. The only others to have won both are novelists Eudora Welty and Philip Roth.
Dove is the only person to have won both medals and held the Poet Laureateship.
Please make sure to keep your comments respectful and free from abusive language or personal attacks. Comments will not appear until approved by site moderator. Thank you for reading the blog and we encourage all users to interact with the blog by posting comments and feedback.
Posting your comment
Gerhard A, Fuerst | February 12, 2012 @ 1:44 pm
Rita Dove is an inspiration as a prolific poet,
a great writer, an imaginative playwright,
a superb educator, a profound humanitarian.
She is the consummate professional
and the universally respected promoter of the literary art. Besides, she and her husband, the German novelist Fred Viebahn, are also very talented and passionate ball room dancers. Rita’s high honor is well deserved, and solidifies her already
great reputation as a literary giant and as a national treasure.
Teresa Jewell | February 13, 2012 @ 12:46 pm
Congratulations Rita. You deserve every award they can give you…your writing is such a gift to all.
Krista Darcus | February 13, 2012 @ 5:04 pm
Congratulations, dear lady!
Carey | February 14, 2012 @ 3:07 pm
Here is the link to the video if you were not able to watch it live:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/02/13/2011-national-medals-arts-and-humanities-ceremony