Rita Dove is poet, essayist and Pulitzer-prize winner. She served as the U-S Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995. She was the first African American to hold this title and the youngest poet ever elected to the position. She received the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in poetry, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. She is the author of 11 collections of poetry, including her new book called Playlist for the Apocalypse. Rita Dove is Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.