The Chain Saw Dance

by David Budbill

Book by Budbill, David

Genres: Poetry

66 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1977

About the author

DAVID BUDBILL was born in 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio to a streetcar driver and a minister’s daughter. In 1969 he and his wife, Lois Eby, moved from New York City to Northern Vermont where they lived together for 47 years until his death in 2016. David’s colorful life included being a track star in high school, attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City, teaching at Lincoln University (a historically Black college in Pennsylvania), laboring on a Christmas tree farm, playing myriad musical instruments, working for racial and economic justice, tending a large vegetable garden, cutting his own wood, riding a mountain bike, and writing a staggering amount of creative material. David had a gift with the written word, with storytelling, and with striking the heart of the matter with astonishing clarity and simplicity.

During his prolific career David authored eight books of poems, seven plays, two novels, a collection of short stories, two picture books for children, dozens of essays, and the libretto for an opera. He also served as an occasional commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. His honors include an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from New England College, a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. David loved to write but he also loved to perform and did so in many venues—from schools and prisons in Vermont to avant-garde performance spaces in New York City—often with bassist William Parker and other musical collaborators.

Life in rural Vermont provided much of the inspiration for David’s work, be it cutting wood, putting a vegetable garden to bed, a bird’s song, or the struggles of working folks. He was keenly attuned to the world’s suffering and had a passion for social justice, particularly issues of race and class, that infused much of his work. David lived his life to the fullest—aware of his relative privilege but determined to enjoy and savor what he had, particularly the simple things: a neatly stacked woodpile, a good meal and lively conversation, a cup of tea. He lived with incredible love for this life—for humanity and for the natural world around him.

Reviews

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

All these poems appear in Budbill's Judevine book, but revisiting this small sampling of his characters is very enjoyable if you can get a copy on this long OOP book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect prose of life in northern New England. Insightful and poignant descriptions of people and places. America!

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Character-driven poetry. I love it. The title comes from a poem about a man and a woman dancing in circles to the sputtering rhythm of an idling chainsaw. Those are the kinds of people you'll meet here. The writing itself falls somewhere between mini-stories and actual poetry, by my personal definition which is by no means absolute. Anyway, I'm hooked. David Budbill has adopted the territory of rural Vermont, creating a town called Judevine and peopling it with characters who step right off the page and into your life.

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and poignant in a way only Vermonters can completely understand.