The beauty of words

Jet, Oct 11, 2004

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Caption: THE BEAUTY OF WORDS: University of Virginia English Professor Rita Dove (1), 52, shakes hands with Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III (r) after she recently was appointed Poet Laureate of Virginia during a ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in Charlottesville, VA. Dove's husband Fred Viebahn proudly looks on during the ceremony. The Akron, OH, native won a Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1987 for her piece Thomas and Beulah. The Miami University (OH) summa cum laude graduate also served as the U.S. poet laureate from 1993 to 1995. At age 40 she was the youngest person and the first African-American to receive the high honor. Dove will serve as Virginia's chief poet for two years.