Rita Dove

Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and writer. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
In 1987 she became the second African American (after Gwendolyn Brooks in 1950) to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. She won for her third book of poetry, "Thomas and Beulah".
From 1993 to 1995, she was the first African American to work as the United States Poet Laureate. She was the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004–2006.
Dove has won many awards for her work. These include the National Humanities Medal in 1996 and the National Medal of Arts in 2011. In 2022 she won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.