David Budbill
Encyclopedia
David Wolf Budbill is an American
poet
, and playwright
.
He is the author of eight books of poems, eight plays, a novel, a collection of short stories, a picture book for children, and dozens of essays, introductions, speeches, and book reviews.
His three most recent books of poems are Happy Life (Copper Canyon Press, 2011), While We’ve Still Got Feet (Copper Canyon Press, 2005) and Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain Recluse (Copper Canyon Press, 1999).
His collection of narrative poems, Judevine, was republished in an expanded edition by Chelsea Green Publishing Company in 1999.
Garrison Keillor reads frequently from David's poems on The Writer's Almanac on National Public Radio.
His play Judevine, a stage version of his narrative poems, has now had 65 productions in 22 states since the early 1980s. Among Budbill's other plays are Little Acts of Kindness, Thingy World!, Two for Christmas and his newest, first produced in 2010, A Song for My Father.
Zen Mountains/Zen Streets and Songs for a Suffering World, both, audio CDs of his poetry, with the music of jazz bassist and composer William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake were released on the Boxholder Records label in 1999 and 2003.
He has also served as an occasional commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
He is the creator and editor of The Judevine Mountain Emailite: a Cyberzine: an On-Line and On-Going Journal of Politics and Opinion, which is available on his website.
In 2000, Budbill wrote the libretto for an opera, with music by composer Erik Nielsen, called A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine, which is based on two characters from the Judevine poems. A Fleeting Animal premiered in Vermont in October 2000 to rave reviews and packed houses.
Among his honors and prizes are his first Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from New England College, in Henniker, New Hampshire, in January 2009. David's other prizes and honors include: a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry in 1981, a National Endowment for the Arts Play Writing Fellowship in 1991, The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for Fiction in 1978, and The Vermont Arts Council’s Walter Cerf Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2002. In November of 2009 David was inducted as a Fellow into the Vermont Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2011, David received the Kjell Meling Memorial Award for Distinction in the Arts & Humanities. presented by Pennsylvania State University/Altoona.
Happy Life (Copper Canyon Press
, 2011) is his latest collection of poems. Inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese reclusive poets, Budbill continues a discourse about his struggles living a simple life in a complex modern time.
He lives in the mountains or northern Vermont with his wife, painter Lois Eby; their daughter is the poet Nadine Wolf Budbill.
His papers are held at University of Vermont
.
In 1968, Budbill signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
fellowship in playwriting, a 1982 Guggenheim Fellowship
in poetry, and a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for fiction.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
He is the author of eight books of poems, eight plays, a novel, a collection of short stories, a picture book for children, and dozens of essays, introductions, speeches, and book reviews.
His three most recent books of poems are Happy Life (Copper Canyon Press, 2011), While We’ve Still Got Feet (Copper Canyon Press, 2005) and Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain Recluse (Copper Canyon Press, 1999).
His collection of narrative poems, Judevine, was republished in an expanded edition by Chelsea Green Publishing Company in 1999.
Garrison Keillor reads frequently from David's poems on The Writer's Almanac on National Public Radio.
His play Judevine, a stage version of his narrative poems, has now had 65 productions in 22 states since the early 1980s. Among Budbill's other plays are Little Acts of Kindness, Thingy World!, Two for Christmas and his newest, first produced in 2010, A Song for My Father.
Zen Mountains/Zen Streets and Songs for a Suffering World, both, audio CDs of his poetry, with the music of jazz bassist and composer William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake were released on the Boxholder Records label in 1999 and 2003.
He has also served as an occasional commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
He is the creator and editor of The Judevine Mountain Emailite: a Cyberzine: an On-Line and On-Going Journal of Politics and Opinion, which is available on his website.
In 2000, Budbill wrote the libretto for an opera, with music by composer Erik Nielsen, called A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine, which is based on two characters from the Judevine poems. A Fleeting Animal premiered in Vermont in October 2000 to rave reviews and packed houses.
Among his honors and prizes are his first Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from New England College, in Henniker, New Hampshire, in January 2009. David's other prizes and honors include: a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry in 1981, a National Endowment for the Arts Play Writing Fellowship in 1991, The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for Fiction in 1978, and The Vermont Arts Council’s Walter Cerf Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2002. In November of 2009 David was inducted as a Fellow into the Vermont Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2011, David received the Kjell Meling Memorial Award for Distinction in the Arts & Humanities. presented by Pennsylvania State University/Altoona.
Happy Life (Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2011) is his latest collection of poems. Inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese reclusive poets, Budbill continues a discourse about his struggles living a simple life in a complex modern time.
He lives in the mountains or northern Vermont with his wife, painter Lois Eby; their daughter is the poet Nadine Wolf Budbill.
His papers are held at University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
.
In 1968, Budbill signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Awards
Among his prizes and honors are a National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
fellowship in playwriting, a 1982 Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in poetry, and a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for fiction.
Poetry
- ’’Barking Dog’’ (Barking Dog Press, 1968)
- ’’The Chain Saw Dance’’ (Crow’s Mark Press, 1977; Countryman Press, 1983)
- ’’From Down to the Village’’ (The Ark, 1981)
- ’’Why I Came to Judevine’’ (White Pine Press, 1987)
- ’’Judevine: The Complete Poems’’ (Chelsea Green, 1991, 1999)
- ’’Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain Recluse’’ (Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 1999) - ’’While We’ve Stll Got Feet’’ (Copper Canyon Press, 2005)
- ’’Happy Life" (Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2011)
Compact Disks
- ’’Zen Mountains-Zen Streets: A Duet for Poet and Improvised Bass’’ (with bassist William Parker) (Boxholder Records, 1999)
- ’’Songs for a Suffering World: A Prayer for Peace, a Protest Against War’’ (with bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake)(Boxholder Records, 2003)
Plays
- ’’Mannequins’ Demise’’ (1965)
- ’’Knucklehead Rides Again’’ (1966)
- ’’Pulp Cutters’ Nativity’’ (Countryman Press, 1981)
- ’’Judevine: The Play’’ (New American Play 2, Heinemann, 1990)
- ’’Thingy World’’ (1991)
- ’’Little Acts of Kindness: A Poem for Fourteen Voices and Blues Band’’ (1993)
- ’’Two For Christmas’’ (1997)
- "A Song For My Father" (2010)
Opera Librettos
- ’’A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine’’ (with composer Erik Nielsen)(2000)
Cyberzines
- ’’The Judeville Mountain Emailite: An On-line and On-going Journal of Politics and Opinion
Short stories
- ’’Snowshoe Trek to Otter River’’ (The Dial Press, 1976; Onion River Press, 2005)
Edited Volumes
- ’’Danvis Tales: Selected Stories by Rowland E. Robinson’’ (University Press of New England, 1995)
External links
- Author's website
- "David Budbill Brings New Drama To The Stage", VPR, Amy Noyes, 04/23/10