University English Prof. Rita Dove recently received two awards for her work in poetry - the 2010 Ohiona Poetry Book Award and the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers' Ambassador Award.
She received the Book Award for Poetry for her recently published book of poems, "Sonata Mulattica."
Linda Hengst, executive director of the Ohioana Library, said the Ohioana Book Award was created to bring attention to outstanding works of Ohio authors or authors who were born in or have lived in Ohio for at least five years. Dove is a native of Akron, Ohio, and attended both high school and college in the state.
"Sonata Mulattica" is a collection of poems that highlight the career of George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower, an African-Polish violinist who learned under Austrian composer Joseph Haydn and worked with German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
"The awards screening committee thought the books were absolutely outstanding," Hengst said.
The 2010 Book Award for Poetry will be Dove's fourth Ohioana Library Book Award, Hengst said. She received the award in 1990, 1994 and 2000, for "Grace Notes", "Selected Poems" and "On the Bus with Rosa Parks," respectively. Dove also received an award in 2003 for her overall contribution to Ohio literature. Dove's cumulative amount of awards make her the most recognized poet by the Ohioana Library, she said.
Dove received the Ambassador Award in honor of her overall body of work.
The Ambassador Award is presented by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, a national organization whose objective is to collectively raise consciousness about literature and use literature to create a community, according to Teresa Miller, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers.
"The Ambassador Award recognizes writers that transcend any sort of label, and in the process, work to broaden our minds and open our hearts," Miller said. "We consider Rita Dove one of the great writers of this era. Through her masterworks, such as 'Thomas and Beulah,' 'Mother Love' and most recently, 'Sonata Mulattica,' she has challenged us all with the greatness of her art."
Past recipients of the Ambassador Award include Amy Tan, Frank McCourt, Alice Walker, Isabelle Allende and Alexander McCall Smith, Miller said.
Dove was very appreciative of both awards.
"It's wonderful to be appreciated for the here and now as well as for my entire literary work," she said.
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