When I walked into the unassuming ranch-style home of poet Rhina Espaillat, I was greeted by her husband Alfred and his gallery of sculptures. Theirs is a marriage of art, culture and love of literature. Rhina is originally from the Dominican Republic and Alfred's family is from Romania. One of Rhina's favorite sculptures by Alfred is actually a reproduction of a family photo taken circa 1920, when his father left for America. It's kept on the sun porch, sharing space with shelves of traditional Hispanic dolls and figurines amongst a jungle of vibrant ferns, jade tress and bonsai, another cultural mix.

Rhina was born into a world of poetry and music, from which she abruptly emigrated at an early age. She built a career as a teacher in New York City and published occasionally, only to blossom as a writer after retirement, leading Newburyport's Powow River Poets for the past 10 years. She's publishing her eighth book in May, "Playing at Stillness," and has been showered with accolades along the way. Rhina offered me something to drink and I accepted some tea while we sat down to explore her past and her inspirations for becoming, and remaining, a poet.

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

My grandmother was a poet and would always have other writers and musicians coming over the house in the Dominican Republic to perform and read their poetry. I loved the sound of the guitars behind the poetry.

When did you come to America?

My father was a diplomat and worked with my uncle, who was very much against the political structure of the dictatorship (during World War II); people were being executed for what they believed in and banished from the country for speaking their minds. My great uncle was denounced by the government, and my family was exiled from our country. We came to New York City when I was 7. There was always this invisible political barrier between us and the relatives left behind. I had a huge sense of loss, but ending up in New York City was a blessing. You really get a slice of the world in that city; it makes immigrants feel like citizens of the world. Growing up with so many other nationalities of children, it was our similarities that were strong, not our differences. We shared a feeling of common loss of our home countries. It was in the New York City public school system that we were created equal. Public education, I think, is the door to freedom for all immigrants.

Does being bilingual give you an advantage as a poet?

I see it as an incentive to make yourself understood. I felt so alone when I first got to the States as a child, and I wanted to learn how to express myself, to be accepted and to have my feelings understood.

What was your educational experience?

I owe so much to public schools and to other immigrants. I remember my favorite high school English teacher encouraged my writing ability. Her name was Ms. Jones, but she went by the nom de plume Kathryn Hayden Jacobs and was a published poet herself. She sent three of my best poems to the Ladies' Home Journal, and they won a contest. So I was published at age 16! I went on to graduate from the New York City university system at Queens and Hunter colleges, where I received my degree in English. I taught at Jamaica High School soon after. I've always published poetry in journals and magazines ever since, but didn't write my first book until 1992, after I retired from teaching.

Who are your favorite poets?

Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Walt Whitman, Federico Garc?¡a Lorca, In??s de la Cruz and Richard Wilbur.

Have you won any awards for your poetry?

(For sonnets), I've got three from the Poetry Society of America (the Gustav Davidson Memorial Award in 1986 for "Pig" and in 1989 for "At the Jeweller's" and the Cecil Hemley Memorial Award in 2000 for "Marine Salvage Museum, Florida"), the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award (presented by The Formalist in 1998 for "Contingencies" and in 2003 for "Discovery"), and the Oberon Prize in 2003 for "Translating." (For manuscripts), I was awarded the T.S. Eliot prize for "Where Horizons Go" (1998) and the Richard Wilbur award for "Rehearsing Absence" (2001). I was so honored to receive a prize in his name that I wrote him personally to express my gratitude.

How did you become involved with the Newburyport Art Association?

My husband, Alfred, got involved right away in 1990 when we moved here from New York City. I started meeting other poets and gathering in people's houses to have readings, until our group aggrandized and we started meeting at caf??s. Soon we had a meeting place at the library and now we are part of the scene with the NAA.

How do you think poetry enriches people's lives in the Seacoast community?

It bridges the socio-economic barriers by speaking of the human condition. The poet is speaking to the larger self, to the universal self. It is the oldest form of literature, (and it was) meant to be read aloud. This is why poetry readings continue to be so important.

Who are your favorite contemporary poets?

Dana Gioia, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, has really reawoken the traditional style of formal poetry. He and Michael Peich, who teaches at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, run the annual West Chester Poetry Conference, held in early June, the first of which was devoted to poetic form.

What do you hope for the future of the Powow Poets?

It's been 10 years that I've organized the group, and it's time to let someone else continue the reading series. I would love to intergrate musical accompaniment somehow so that all art forms will be represented in the NAA.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

I'd like to be an inspiration for older women to use their minds. They should keep the mind working because a working mind is a happy mind. It may not have the razzmatazz of youth, but it has the depth acquired in life.