David Budbill (1940–2016)

I was with him, totally immersed in many of the life enhancing poems celebrating seasons, Judevine Mountain, Chinese poets, and love -
skipping most of the self pity and imminent death wishes - until he joyously shot the young woodchuck.

This ruins the whole book.

So much for his professed love for Buddha who preached only great compassion for all animals.

Swinging from the Vermont mountains where he is usually writing to his long-ago urban haunts, Budbill takes the reader to an open space in a city where denizens of a park meet, greet, muse, confuse, reach out and step away. Budbill's characters speak to all of us. Anyone reading "Park Songs" who can't identify or who doesn't think that people like this exist is not living in our world or in our times. The characters of this poem/play are everyday people with daily challenges. Most don't go show more to an office in the morning and return to a nice little house at night. Some of the park people are homeless, others live in rooming houses or elder housing.

All of Budbill's characters are memorable, but easy to confuse in the beginning. As the pages go on, however, each character takes on a special trait, presents a significant challenge or dilemma, and the reader begins to remember and starts to connect. "Park Songs" is best read aloud for it is, after all, meant to be performed. Reading segments out loud makes them more real and allows us to enter into the characters and their thoughts. Also, Budbill's language is best appreciated when read aloud. Even reading quietly to ourselves, however, it is easy to visualize "Park Songs" on stage. We read the words and see the spotlight reach out or the lights go dim as various characters come out into the park. We may even find ourselves imagining various options for stage settings.

Who are Budbill's characters? They are all of us, although each one is missing something: a friend, a home, an income, an identity, or perhaps confidence. As they speak, we identify, empathize, and reflect. Kudos to Budbill for choosing a city park - the great meeting ground of rich and poor, different races, different politics, and different lifestyles - to highlight human needs, foibles, and concerns. The park mothers all - and all come to be at least briefly sheltered and protected there.

Budbill's background and love of the blues shows as he highlights the beginning or ends of certain scenes with traditional blues pieces. In our minds we hear them being played. They are that real. A slim little volume like "Park Songs" might not seem like much to the reader who doesn't reach out to others, but to observers of life, human-service workers, givers, and those in tune with humanity, "Park Songs" will speak on even after the closing scene. show less

Although I do not generally read poetry, I knew of the author's reputation and was intrigued by the offering of the book for review. I have also travelled extensively in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and have encountered many of the 'local folks' along the way.

Mr. Budbill's reputation is well-deserved. His writings capture the culture and pathos of the Kingdom. His words are spare but evocative, and his use of dialect, while done with restraint, adds nuance and character to some show more individuals in the story. People come and go within the context of the larger work, and this too effectively portrays the various lives and relationships that represent 'existence' in this truly unique time and place.

"Judevine" is masterful and deserves a place in any library. show less

I adored this exploration of community and personalities, as well as levels of sanity and security. Budbill was able to crisply portray various voices, and the spin of characters in and out of the spotlight felt incredibly natural given the supposed setting.

The mix of poetry and play formatting was both intriguing and a bit dis-settling, as it was a unique, unknown, and experimental. There were scenes where it worked quite well, and others where I felt it had fallen flat without any true show more draw, even within lines from the same voice, such as Mr. C.

However, even without stage directions, props, or clarity in whose line it was, this was a powerful play... one that I would love to be a part of, on stage or in the audience. show less