David Budbill has been living in the mountains of Vermont, well, on one specific mountain in Vermont, since he was 29 years old. This year he turns 70. His life on Judevine Mountain has been one of the main inspirations for his many books of poetry, plays, essays, and fiction.
He writes about gardening, chopping wood, drinking tea, listening to the birds. But his thoughts are more complex than mere celebrations of the simple life. He investigates this life, and why he lives it. He explores the pull of city life and the race back to solitude. He explores his desire for money, fame, and adulation alongside his craving to lose those urges and be content with what he has.
Budbill’s newest play, A Song For My Father opens tomorrow in Montpelier. Largely autobiographical, it’s about Budbill’s relationship with his father, who was a streetcar driver in Cleveland where Budbill grew up, and where Budbill visited when his father grew old.
He spoke with VPR’s Jane Lindholm about his work.