2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2007 Vermont State Poet, 2002 National Book Award, Whiting Award and two Guggenheim Fellowships[1][2]
Life and poetryedit
Stone was born in Roanoke, Virginia and lived there until age 6, when her family moved back to her parents' hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana.[4][5] She went to college at the University of Illinois. Her first marriage was to John Clapp in 1935,[4] and they had one daughter.[5] Her second marriage was to professor and poet Walter Stone, in 1944,[4] with whom she had two daughters.[5] Walter Stone, who served in World War II, received a PhD from Harvard, and taught at University of Illinois, and then at Vassar College.[6] 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, on November 19, 2011.[7] She was buried near the raspberry bushes behind her Goshen home.[8]
Careeredit
Stone's verse was published widely in periodicals, and she was the author of thirteen books of poetry.[9]
In 1990 Stone became a professor of English and Creative Writing at Binghamton University, and retired from this position at the age of 85.[5]
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, Vermontedit
When Stone received the Kenyon Review Fellowship in Poetry, she and Walter used the funds to buy a house in Goshen, Vermont, expecting that it would be a place to go in the summers, and to eventually retire.[6] 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.[6]
^The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States. Ed. Cathy N. Davidson and Linda Wagner-Martin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Oxford University Press.
^ abcdefgBeal, Jane (2016). "Ruth Stone". American Writers Supplement. Gale. pp. 249–65.
^ abcdLanger, Emily (27 November 2011). "Ruth Stone, poet who won acclaim later in her life, dies at 96". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
^ abc"The House With Feet: The Dire Importance of Ruth Stone's Bequest • VIDA: Women in Literary Arts". VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
^William Grimes (November 24, 2011). "Ruth Stone, a Poet Celebrated Late in Life, Dies at 96". The New York Times.
^"About Ruth Stone: Her Land". RuthStoneHouse.org. Goshen, VT: Ruth Stone House. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
^"Ruth Stone". The Daily Telegraph. London. January 1, 2012.
^"Past Fellows". The Kenyon Review. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
^ ab"Ruth Stone". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
^"Poetry". Past winners & finalists by category. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
^
"National Book Awards – 2002". National Book Foundation. 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.)