David Budbill facts for kids

David Wolf Budbill (born June 13, 1940 – died September 25, 2016) was an American writer. He was famous for his poems and plays. He also wrote novels, short stories, and even a children's picture book.

Growing Up and Learning

David Wolf Budbill was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 13, 1940. He went to Muskingum College in Ohio. There, he studied interesting subjects like philosophy and art history. Later, he earned a degree in theology from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. After college, he taught at Lincoln University for a short time. In 1969, he moved to northern Vermont. He taught part-time at The Stowe School there.

His Writing Career

David Budbill wrote many books of poems. Some of his recent poetry books include Happy Life (2011) and While We've Still Got Feet (2005). His collection of poems called Judevine was very popular. It was re-released in an updated version in 1999.

Plays and Music

Budbill also wrote plays. His play Judevine was based on his poems. It was performed over 65 times in 22 different states! Other plays he wrote include Little Acts of Kindness and A Song for My Father.

He also combined his poetry with music. He released two audio CDs of his poems. These CDs featured jazz musicians William Parker and Hamid Drake. The music helped bring his words to life.

Radio and Other Works

David Budbill often shared his thoughts on National Public Radio (NPR). He was a guest commentator on the show All Things Considered. Famous radio host Garrison Keillor often read Budbill's poems on The Writer's Almanac.

In 2000, Budbill wrote the story for an opera. It was called A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine. This opera was based on characters from his Judevine poems. It was very well-received when it first opened in Vermont.

Awards and Honors

David Budbill received many awards for his writing.

• In 1981, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry. This is a special award for writers.
• He also received a National Endowment for the Arts Play Writing Fellowship in 1991.
• For his children's book, he won The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award in 1980.
• In 2002, he received the Walter Cerf Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.
• He was honored by New England College in 2009. They gave him an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
• In 2009, he was inducted into the Vermont Academy of Arts and Letters.
• He received the Kjell Meling Memorial Award in 2011.

Besides writing, Budbill had many different jobs. He worked as a carpenter's helper and a cook. He was also a hospital attendant and a church pastor.

Personal Life and Legacy

David Budbill lived in the mountains of northern Vermont. He lived there with his wife, Lois Eby, who was a painter. Their daughter, Nadine Wolf Budbill, is also a poet.

Budbill was known for standing up for his beliefs. In 1968, he signed a pledge to protest the Vietnam War. He passed away on September 25, 2016, at the age of 76. He had been living with Parkinson's disease. After his death, the Vermont legislature honored him. They named him The People's Poet of Vermont. His writings and papers are kept at the University of Vermont.

Selected Works

Poetry Books

• Barking Dog (1968)
• The Chain Saw Dance (1977)
• From Down to the Village (1981)
• Why I Came to Judevine (1987)
• Judevine: The Complete Poems (1991, 1999)
• Moment to Moment: Poems of a Mountain Recluse (1999)
• While We've Still Got Feet (2005)
• Happy Life (2011)
• Park Songs (2012)
• Tumbling toward the End (2017)

Music CDs

• Zen Mountains-Zen Streets: A Duet for Poet and Improvised Bass (with William Parker) (1999)
• Songs for a Suffering World: A Prayer for Peace, a Protest Against War (with William Parker and Hamid Drake) (2003)

Plays

• Mannequins' Demise (1965)
• Knucklehead Rides Again (1966)
• Pulp Cutters' Nativity (1981)
• Judevine: The Play (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 Stories

• A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine (with Erik Nielsen) (2000)

Online Journals

• The Judeville Mountain Emailite: An On-line and On-going Journal of Politics and Opinion

Short Stories

• Snowshoe Trek to Otter River (1976)

Novels

• The Bones on Black Spruce Mountain (1978)
• Broken Wing (2016)

Children's Books

• Christmas Tree Farm (1974)

Edited Books

• Danvis Tales: Selected Stories by Rowland E. Robinson (1995)