Monday Muse: John Rule, Poet

Below, Sarah Moore Chrychel relates in her 33-minute documentary, Witch Hazel Advent: The Story of an Ozark Poet (2012), the life of poet and peace/environmental activist John Rule, who, with his wife Margaret, lived off the grid in their home, "Frog Bayou", in Arkansas's Ozark Mountains. Though Margaret became ill with Alzheimer's disease, Rule cared for her under less-than-ideal conditions for almost 10 years; ultimately, he was forced to place her in a nursing home, where she died in 2009. Subsequently, Rule became an activist.

Chrychel, Rule's granddaughter, tells his story, interspersing it with his poetry and interviews. Her film was made for her master's degree in journalism, which she received from the University of Arkansas.

Chrychel, who lives in Fayetteville, is a video producer at Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History at the University of Arkansas.

Witch Hazel Advent, The Story of an Ozark Poet from Sarah Moore Chyrchel on Vimeo.


Sarah K. Moore on FaceBook

Pryor Center on FaceBook

Ozark Poets & Writers Collective on FaceBook

Hear John Rule read some of his poetry at his former blog John Rule: An Arkansas Poet.