In her new series of poems, Rita Dove focuses on a “witness” — the Statue of Liberty — who “is looking out over the world that we live in, wondering how we got there.”
“Truth would say these are arrogant times,” Dove reads at the end of the series’ first poem, “Beside the Golden Door.” “Believers slaughter their doubters while the greedy oil their lips with excuses and the righteous turn merciless; the merciful, mad.”
“Beside the Golden Door” and others in the series “A Standing Witness” is in Dove’s new volume of poetry, called “Playlist For the Apocalypse,” that explores both her personal health and our collective well-being.
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newshour
Subscribe:
PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
