In May of 1999, the 92Y Poetry Center celebrated its 60th anniversary with a gala reading. Appearing that night were Stanley Kunitz, Grace Paley, Edward Albee, Reynolds Price, Tony Kushner and Rita Dove, who read poems from her latest collection, On the Bus with Rosa Parks. In a note at the back of the book, Ms. Dove shared the origin of its title:

“In 1995, during a convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, as the conferees were boarding buses to be driven to another site, my daughter leaned over and whispered, ‘Hey, we’re on the bus with Rosa Parks!’ Although the precipitating incident did not make it into a poem, the phrase haunted me—and so this meditation on history and the individual, image and essence was born. (By the way, Mrs. Parks took a seat in the front of the bus.)”

Today’s featured recording is Rita Dove’s reading from the Poetry Center’s 60th anniversary celebration in 1999.

Ms. Dove returns to the Poetry Center this Thursday to read from her latest meditation on history and the individual, Sonata Mullatica, a book which reimagines the life and times of George Polgreen Bridgetower, a 19th-century violin virtuoso. She will be reading with Philip Levine, whose new collection is News of the World.

In an ongoing effort to share with our readers some of the great literary moments which the Poetry Center has presented across the decades, this blog has begun to feature regular postings of archival recordings by some of the best writers of our time—many of whom, like Rita Dove, are returning this season. To purchase tickets to this Thursday’s readings by Ms. Dove and Mr. Levine, please click here. For more information about the rest of the upcoming season, please click here. And for access to other recordings from the Poetry Center archive, please click here.

Unterberg Poetry Center webcasts and access to our archive are made possible in part by the generous support of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.

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