David Budbill

David Budbill (1940–2016) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a streetcar driver and a minister’s daughter. He was the author of nine books of poems, nine plays, a novel, a collection of short stories, a picture book for children, and dozens of essays, introductions, speeches, and book reviews. He also produced two CDs, Zen Mountains/Zen Streets and Songs for a Suffering World with The Judevine Mountain Trio. His poems appeared regularly on The Writer’s Almanac. His prizes and honors included an honorary doctorate from New England College, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in playwriting, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry. He lived for forty years in the mountains of northern Vermont where he loved cutting firewood, tending a large garden, and paying fierce attention to the world.