Judevine: The Complete Poems, 1970-1990

Budbill came to northern Vermont in the Sixties as part of the hippie diaspora. Like many others, he responded to the stubborn, hard life of the backwoods poor, and it became both his own way of life and his subject as a poet. This book brings together 20 years of the lives of a semifictional community. The cast of characters ranges from Antoine, harvester of Christmas trees, to Sarah, a newcomer who stays on in Judevine after her husband tires of farming and leaves. Budbill finds "delight . . ./ In the midst of what some think is squalor." Over the course of this verse novel, the circumscribed lives of these feisty people accumulate resonance, while retaining the transparency of poetry. Budbill's is an important voice, part of the nascent movement to bring our view of New England's native poor from the long-vanished world of Ethan Frome to the likes of the Beans of Egypt, Maine. Essential for regional collections.

Literature & Fiction

David Budbill

Poetry

Chelsea Green Pub. Co

Snowshoe Trek to Otter River

Onion River Press

Set in the remote mountains to the north, BROKEN WING is an allegorical tale about a rusty blackbird with a broken wing who can't fly and therefore is trapped in the inhospitable north country for the winter, and a man, known only as The Man Who Lives Alone in the Mountains, who lives a solitary life of nurturing attentiveness, simple kindness, and passionate emotional intensity. BROKEN WING is the story of how these two different lives come together. A story of loneliness, survival, tenacity, and will, BROKEN WING is also about music and race and what it is like to be a minority in a strange place. A story of the natural world and the wonder of birds' lives, and of one man's deep connection to them, BROKEN WING becomes a song of praise for the cycle of the seasons and a meditation on the reality of dreams and the dreamlike quality of reality. It is also the story of a one individual black man told from outside the usual stereotypes about African-American males, which is a perspective seldom seen in America literature. Told with simple, dignified prose BROKEN WING takes on the timeless, mythic aura of a folktale.

Broken Wing

Mythology & Folk Tales

Green Writers Press

This posthumous novel from acclaimed author David Budbill tells the story of The Man Who Lives Alone in the Mountains. As winter descends on his idyllic home, the man encounters a bird with a broken wing, sending him into a poetic and profound meditation on solitude, friendship, and the unstoppable march of time.\nIn the deep woods of Vermont, The Man Who Lives Alone in the Mountains exists in solitude and simplicity. His days are spent caring for his garden and observing the birds and creatures that visit his home. His nights are spent in a contemplative world of music, poetry, letter writing, and, most importantly, bird watching.\nAs November arrives and The Man prepares for winter, he notices an injured bird, shiny and black, holding his own among bullying blue jays. He is drawn to the bird’s spirit of survival and freedom and names it Broken Wing. Since his only neighbors are a couple of hostile brothers and their bird-hunting cat, Broken Wing becomes a source of inspiration—and a friend.\nAs fall changes to winter and back to spring, The Man’s dreams of Broken Wing give way to meditations on the peaks and valleys of life, the passage of time, and the poetry of nature.

Literary

Beyond Words

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Books by David Budbill