🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Rita Dove
She was born to Ray Dove, one of the first African-American chemists to work in the US tire industry (as a research chemist at Goodyear), and Elvira Hord, who achieved honors during high school and would later share her own passion for reading with her daughter. Rita graduated as a Presidential Scholar from Buchtel High School, in 1970,. In 1973, she graduated summa cum laude with her BA from Miami University. She held a Fulbright Scholarship in 1974 and 1975 from University of Tubingen, Germany. In 1977 she got her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. Rita, from 1981 until 1989, taught creative writing at Arizona State University. In 1989, she started teaching at the University of Virginia. She is a trained classical cellist and violist da gamba.
All Book Series by Rita Dove
Playlist for the Apocalypse
Latest in the series · book 13 of 13 · published 2021
Real Things: An Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry
Book 2 of 16 · published 1999
Writer in the Library: 41 Writers Reveal How They Use Libraries to Develop Their Skill, Craft & Careers
Book 5 of 16 · published 2008
The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry
Book 8 of 16 · published 2011
Kenyon Review, Mar/Apr 2021: Volume 43, Number 2
Book 14 of 16 · published 2021
On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library
Book 15 of 16 · published 2021
Breaking into Blossom: Poems with Extraordinary Endings
Latest in the series · book 16 of 16 · published 2025
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Rita Dove?
She was born to Ray Dove, one of the first African-American chemists to work in the US tire industry (as a research chemist at Goodyear), and Elvira Hord, who achieved honors during high school and would later share her own passion for reading with her daughter. Rita graduated as a Presidential Scholar from Buchtel High School, in 1970,. In 1973, she graduated summa cum laude with her BA from Miami University.
Which Rita Dove series should I start with?
Rita Dove's books stand alone rather than forming a numbered series, so there is no reading order to follow. The natural first pick is Through the Ivory Gate (1992).
How many books has Rita Dove written?
Rita Dove has 31 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1968 and 2025. They are filed under 4 categories rather than in numbered series — chiefly Anthologies, Collections and Standalone Novels.
In what order should Rita Dove's series be read?
No reading order is needed: none of the 31 books catalogued here do not form a numbered series, so any title can be picked up first. Within each category they are listed by publication year.
How are Rita Dove's books organised into series?
This guide splits Rita Dove's 31 books into categories rather than numbered series: Anthologies (16 books); Collections (13 books); Standalone Novels (1 book); Plays (1 book).