GOSHEN 鈥� Nestled in wooded hills, an old white house sits along a gravel road, patiently awaiting the next writers, artists and musicians to fill its halls with poetry and music.
A small brook babbles peacefully alongside the dwelling, and a screened-in patio provides the perfect place to enjoy a beer and listen to a local poet鈥檚 work.
In a time of political instability, is an oasis for writers and artists, both in Vermont and across the world.
The house is named for the poet Ruth Stone, who lived and wrote there for most of her life. After her husband, Walter Stone, died in 1959, she supported herself and her family by teaching creative writing, publishing poetry books and winning literary awards. She was Vermont's poet laureate from 2007 until she died in 2011.
Ruth Stone鈥檚 poetry is known for its seamless blend of domestic themes and cosmic strangeness. Chard diNiord of the Guardian said her poetry has 鈥渁 tragic/comic register few other American poets have struck, often reminiscent of Emily Dickinson鈥檚 double-edged verse, only in a more conversational style.鈥�
Ruth Stone鈥檚 legacy is carried on by her granddaughter and current Vermont poet laureate Bianca Stone. She says her poetry is very much shaped by her grandmother鈥檚.
鈥淚 look to her poems all the time,鈥� said Stone. 鈥淎nd I feel like my poems speak to hers so much.鈥�
During her life, Ruth Stone cultivated a community of poets, often hosting workshops and poetry readings at her house.
Today, Ruth Stone House is a nonprofit organization. It continues to provide support for a grassroots literary community through poetry workshops, public readings and other events.
Bianca Stone is not the only family member involved. Her husband, poet Ben Pease, is the nonprofit鈥檚 executive director. Both have worked on the house鈥檚 continued improvement and larger mission.
Bianca Stone is deeply passionate about maintaining the house as a space for writers and local artists to share their work.
鈥淚t's very collaborative,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's like the team鈥檚 making it together. It keeps changing and deepening, and we're just discovering so much.鈥�
Pease added, 鈥淧art of our mission is encouraging everyone who's working with us to take things that they like personally and incorporate that into outreach to the community.鈥�
Their community now extends far beyond the physical house. The couple offers a free online poetry workshop every Tuesday night. The Zoom format has allowed them to work with poets beyond Vermont.
Aim茅e Alger铆a Barry, a tai chi instructor from Philadelphia, has been joining the online workshop for four years.
鈥淥ne of the most amazing things about working with Bianca and Ben is that you're dealing with two people living the poetry life,鈥� Barry said. 鈥淭hey're very dedicated to poetry, and yet there's this humbleness and generosity that is constantly in action.鈥�
鈥淚 feel like I'm getting an MFA just from being with them and learning from them,鈥� she said.
Ruth Stone House plans to host more this summer, including its Beer & Broadsides poetry readings. They are informal, open mic鈥搒tyle events where folks gather and listen to a local poet鈥檚 work.
Broadside posters of the featured poet鈥檚 work are printed by hand using an in-house Vandercook SP15 letterpress, which belonged to Ruth Stone. That way, everyone can take a free broadside home with them.
Local poet Ben Aleshire, who is also a photographer and printer, said he loves getting involved at Ruth Stone House. He has run the letterpress at Beer & Broadside events.
鈥淭here's a poetry reading, but there's also other stuff going on,鈥� Aleshire said. 鈥淚t's just a really magical little event.鈥�
Aleshire said he鈥檚 grateful that there鈥檚 a non-institutional, informal center for poetry in the state. He appreciates the casual, easygoing nature of the Ruth Stone House.
鈥淎cademics are welcome, of course, but it's mostly like neighbors and friends and, you know, fellow travelers who come out of the woodwork,鈥� Aleshire said.
But cultural institutions like Ruth Stone House are threatened by a loss of federal funding. Because the National Endowment for the Arts is being targeted by the Trump administration, Stone and Pease are worried their nonprofit won鈥檛 receive key awards in the future.
鈥淎 lot of the grants that we were gonna apply for are federally funded,鈥� said Stone. 鈥淎nd things like the NEA are very precarious right now.鈥�
Stone and Pease had hoped to use future grants for scholarships for writers to come to retreats and classes, for payments for featured guests on the " and for printing and freelance costs for their literary publication, .
With or without the money, Bianca Stone said poetry survives because poets are driven to write, especially in this political moment.
鈥淚 feel radicalized by it,鈥� Stone said. 鈥淚 feel motivated by it. I don't feel defeated by it, but I feel sad about it.鈥�
鈥淪omehow," she said, "poetry endures anyway."
The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
