Ruth Stone was born in 1915 in Roanoke, Virginia. She has published more than ten volumes of poetry, including her most recent collection Ordinary Words (Paris Press, 1999). Stone's work has also appeared in numerous journals, including The American Voice, Boulevard, Chelsea, Feminist Studies, Painted Bride Quarterly,The Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, Prairie Schooner and Salamander.

Her numerous honors include the Cerf Lifetime Achievement Award from the state of Vermont, the Whiting Award, the Bunting Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Delmore Schwartz, and the Shelley Memorial Award. Ruth Stone is Professor of English at the State University of New York, Binghamton. She lives in Vermont.