
Righelato examines the works of poet Rita Dove. Her poem entitled "Lady Freedom Among Us" is a witty reminder that the statue representing freedom atop the Capitol building in Washington DC is closest to African American historical experience. Also, Dove's Pulitzer Prize-winning poem "Thomas and Beulah" focuses on large-scale cultural change through familial and intimate. He opines that Dove's expression of history is the most diverse in form and range of subject in contemporary American poetry.