Poet Ruth Stone was born in Roanoke, and her many years as a visiting professor around the country included time at the University of Virginia.
She also won the National Book Award for Poetry, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and published 13 books. But Stone preferred a simple life, spending many years crafting her work at home in rural Vermont.
Stone died in 2011 at age 96, but a documentary now on PBS provides a glimpse into her legacy, and an ever expanding fan base.
Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind features interviews with daughters, granddaughters, and footage of Stone herself when director Nora Jacobson started a profile of her in 2009.
The interview was originally intended to be one in a series with elder poets, as proposed by Vermont poet laureate Chard deNiord.
“By the end of the day, I was so taken by her on camera presence, and the way she recited her poems from memory, the way she looked, the way she talked, (I suggested to Stone’s family & deNiord) making a documentary about Ruth,” Jacobson said. They all agreed it would be a good idea.
Her family told Jacobson they're still learning things about her more than a decade after her death.
"Her mind was always creating poems," she said. "She had to quickly grab a pencil and scribble something down before it left her."
Today, the Ruth Stone Housein Goshen, Vermont is a regular site for classes, workshops, and other events.
Jacobson's film will screen a number of times in the next few weeks on Blue Ridge PBS, including on Tuesday, March 21, known as World Poetry Day.
