Photo by Fred Viebahn We are delighted to announced the addition of Rita Dove to our roster of speakers for the Key West Literary Seminar next January. Dove joins current United States Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, and past Laureates Billy Collins, Charles Simic, Robert Pinsky, Maxine Kumin, and Mark Strand for our 28th annual event, intended as a celebration of 60 years of American poetry and a tribute to Richard Wilbur, himself a former Laureate. Dove served two terms in the office, from 1993-1995, and was also appointed a Special Bientennial Consultant in 1999. At 40 years old, she was the youngest poet to hold the office, appointed each year by the Librarian of Congress and meant to serve as "the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans."

Dove's collections of poetry include Thomas and Beulah, which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize; a 1993 Selected Poems; and the forthcoming Sonata Mulattica. Her collaboration with composer John Williams on the song cycle Seven for Luck was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and her play The Darker Face of the Earth has been produced at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Royal National Theatre in London, among other venues.

You can learn more about Rita Dove on her KWLS Speaker Page. See all of this year's speakers here.

Register for 2010.