Ruth Stone (June 8, 1915 – November 19, 2011) was an American poet.

Life and poetry

Stone was born in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

and lived there until age 6, when her family moved back to her parents' hometown of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. She attended the University of Illinois. Her first marriage was to John Clapp in 1935, and they had one daughter. Her second marriage was to professor and poet Walter Stone, in 1944, with whom she had two daughters. Walter Stone, who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, received a PhD from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and taught at University of Illinois, and then at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. Walter Stone committed suicide in 1959; this tragedy shaped the path of Ruth Stone's life, as she sought ways to support herself and her daughters by teaching poetry at universities across the United States. Her work is distinguished by its tendency to draw imagery and language from the natural sciences. Stone died at her home in

Goshen, Vermont Goshen is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 172 at the 2020 census. Geography Goshen is located in southern Addison County, within the Green Mountains. It is bordered by the town of Forest Dale to the west, Sa ...

, on November 19, 2011. She was buried near the raspberry bushes behind her Goshen home.

Career

Stone's verse was published widely in periodicals, and she was the author of thirteen books of poetry. In 1990 Stone became a professor of English and Creative Writing at

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

, and retired from this position at the age of 85. Early on, Stone's work was recognized by editors. While her husband was teaching at Vassar College, Stone received the Kenyon Review Fellowship in Poetry.

House in Goshen, Vermont

When Stone received the Kenyon Review Fellowship in Poetry, she and Walter used the funds to buy a house in

, expecting that it would be a place to go in the summers, and to eventually retire. The house became a refuge for Stone after Walter's death, and over the years, became an intellectual center for her students and other poets.

Awards

*''Poetry'' Magazine Bess Hoken Prize, 1953 *Kenyon Review Fellowship in Poetry, 1956 *Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, 1963-1965 *Shelley Memorial Award from the

Poetry Society of America Poetry (from the Greek word '' poiesis'', "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Any partic ...

, 1965 *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, Poetry, 1971 *

, Poetry, 1975 *

Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 – July 11, 1966) was an American poet and short story writer. Early life Schwartz was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, where he also grew up. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when ...

Award, 1983 *

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, ...

, 1986 *Paterson Poetry Prize, 1988 *Cerf Lifetime Achievement Award, State of Vermont *

National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry The National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, established in 1975, is an annual American literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English". Awards are presented ...

for ''Ordinary Words'', 1999 *Eric Mathieu King Award from the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outrea ...

, 1999 *

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

for ''In the Next Galaxy'', 2002 *

Wallace Stevens Award The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

, Academy of American Poets, 2002 *Poet Laureate of Vermont, 2007 *Finalist,

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...

for ''What Love Comes To: New and Selected Poems'', 2009

Legacy

Stone's long-time residence in

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2016. Her heirs (both literary and family) — including her granddaughter, poet and visual artist

Bianca Stone Bianca Stone is a Vermont-based poet. Her poems have appeared in literary magazines and poetry collections, and her illustrations are a part of Anne Carson's project, ''Antigonick''. Early life and education Stone graduated from Antioch Colleg ...

— have established a foundation to convert the property into a writer's retreat. ''Paintbrush: A Journal of Poetry and Translation 27'' (2000/2001) was devoted entirely to Stone's work. The Ruth Stone Poetry Prize awarded by The

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

and their literary journal Hunger Mountain is in its sixth year. Stone's daughter
Phoebe Stone
and Abigail Stone, and her granddaughters Hillery Stone and

, are all published writers.

Cultural references

The voice of Ruth Stone reading her poem "Be Serious" is featured in the film ''USA The Movie''. A documentary film by Nora Jacobson, '' Ruth Stone's Vast Library of the Female Mind'', was released in 2022.

Bibliography

*''What Love Comes To: New and Selected Poems'',

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

, UK edition, 2009, * —finalist for the 2009

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

"Poetry"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-04-08. *; Copper Canyon Press, 2007, * winner of the

"National Book Awards – 2002"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
(With acceptance speech by Stone, announcement by Poetry Panel Chair Dave Smith, and essay by Katie Peterson from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) *''Ordinary Words'', Paris Press, 2000, winner of the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the University ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

References

External links

Ruth Stone Foundation
from the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthrop ...

Ruth Stone from the Academy of American PoetsProfile at The Whiting Foundation"''What Love Comes To''"
Joe Ahearn, ''Cold Front'', September 3, 2008
"The Imagined Galaxies of Ruth Stone"
''NPR''
"Ruth Stone"
''Narrative Magazine''

''The Drunken Boat'', Rebecca Seiferle

* ttp://www.thethepoetry.com/2011/12/abigail-stone-wrapped-in-newspaper/ In Memoriam of Ruth Stone, written by her daughter Abigail Stonefro
THEthe Poetry Blog
*, September 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Ruth National Book Award winners Poets laureate of Vermont Poets from Vermont Poets from Virginia People from Goshen, Vermont Writers from Roanoke, Virginia 1915 births 2011 deaths American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Binghamton University faculty 21st-century American women 20th-century American women academics