Order of Book Series
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Rita Dove Books in Order

Rita Dove has written 15 books, published between 1980 and 2021. The first book is The Yellow House on the Corner (1980) and the newest is Playlist for the Apocalypse (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1980–2021
Total pages
2,294 across 15 books
Reading time
38–57 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,294 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute.

See all 15 books in order Printable Rita Dove checklist
Photo of Rita Dove, author

Rita Dove, born 28 August 1952, is an American poet and essayist. In 1987 Dove became the second African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Dove served as poet laureate consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995, the first African American in that post, and as Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Dove has taught at the University of Virginia since 1989. The catalogue holds 15 books from The Yellow House on the Corner (1980) to Playlist for the Apocalypse (2021), including Thomas and Beulah (1986).

How many Rita Dove books are there?

Rita Dove has 15 books, released between 1980 and 2021.

Rita Dove Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Rita Dove books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Yellow House on the Corner by Rita Dove (1980)
  2. Cover of Museum by Rita Dove (1983)
  3. Cover of Fifth Sunday by Rita Dove (1985)
  4. Cover of Thomas and Beulah by Rita Dove (1986)
  5. Cover of Grace Notes by Rita Dove (1990)
  6. Cover of Through the Ivory Gate by Rita Dove (1992)
  7. Cover of Selected Poems by Rita Dove (1993)
  8. Cover of The Darker Face of the Earth by Rita Dove (1994)
  9. Cover of The Poet's World by Rita Dove (1995)
  10. Cover of Mother Love by Rita Dove (1995)
  11. Cover of On the Bus With Rosa Parks by Rita Dove (1999)
  12. Cover of American Smooth by Rita Dove (2004)
  13. Cover of Sonata Mulattica by Rita Dove (2009)
  14. Cover of Collected Poems: 1974-2004 by Rita Dove (2016)
  15. Cover of Playlist for the Apocalypse by Rita Dove (2021)
  1. 1
    The Yellow House on the Corner1980 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198071
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Museum1983 · 77 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198377
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Fifth Sunday1985 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198571
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Thomas and Beulah1986 · 79 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198679
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Grace Notes1990 · 88 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199088
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Through the Ivory Gate1992 · 278 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Selected Poems1993 · 210 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993210
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Darker Face of the Earth1994 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994173
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Poet's World1995 · 107 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995107
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Mother Love1995 · 78 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199578
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    On the Bus With Rosa Parks1999 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199996
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    American Smooth2004 · 143 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004143
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Sonata Mulattica2009 · 231 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009231
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Collected Poems: 1974-20042016 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2016448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Playlist for the Apocalypse2021 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2021144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Rita Dove books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Standalone books

15 books

15 Rita Dove titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Rita Dove books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 15 Rita Dove books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Rita Dove

Start with The Yellow House on the Corner (1980), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Rita Dove book?

Playlist for the Apocalypse (2021) is the newest Rita Dove book released so far.

Is there a new Rita Dove book coming?

No next Rita Dove book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Rita Dove has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for Rita Dove. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize2022Won
  • Wallace Stevens Award2019Won
  • Pulitzer Prize for Poetry1987Won

Rita Dove at a glance

Paused
No new Rita Dove title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
Release pace
Rita Dove books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
2,294 pages across all 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 107 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Rita Dove books, 7 of 15, were published in the 1990s.

What the Rita Dove books are about

All 15 Rita Dove books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: poetry is tagged on 10 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.