The Ruth Stone House / Green Apples

Ruth Stone (1915-2011) purchased this property in 1956, and for the next 55 years it provided inspiration for her writing and a haven for the many students and colleagues she welcomed. She published her first book of poetry in 1959, the same year her husband, poet and scholar Walter Stone, died. Stone supported herself and her three daughters by teaching creative writing, publishing books of poetry, and winning literary awards, including two Guggenheim Fellowships, a National Book Award, and the Wallace Stevens Award. She served as Vermont Poet Laureate from 2007 to 2011. Her 13 books of poetry display a vast spirit that battles loss with dry wit and fortitude, reveling in both everyday and cosmic worlds. Green Apples In August we carried the old horsehair mattress To the back porch And slept with our children in a row. The wind came up the mountain into the orchard Telling me something: Saying something urgent. I was happy. The green apples fell on the sloping roof And rattled down. The wind was shaking me all night long; Shaking me in my sleep Like a definition of love, Saying, this is the moment, Here, now. —Ruth Stone, 1971