William Mundell

About

William Daniel Mundell (1912 – 1997) was an American poet who served as Vermont's poet laureate from 1989 to 1997. He published six anthologies of poetry.

Mundell served in many roles, including as a radar operator in the Pacific during World War II, During World War II; as a foreman with the Vermont State Highway Department; a selectman, justice of the peace, and auditor for the Town of Newfane; a carpenter, stone mason, painter, and a fine photographer, noted for his studies of frost on windows and ice in brooks — which appeared in Life Magazine, March 5, 1971. He was also an expert skier and built one of the first rope ski tows in Vermont.

Mundell was Executive Editor of Poet Lore magazine, and taught poetry at the Cooper Hill Writers Conference. In 1989, he was named Vermont state's poet laureate. He was the second person to hold this title, after Robert Frost.

Research & Production

Podcast script and narration by Don McLean

Music: Courtesy of Friends of Music at Guilford. Traditional Celtic tunes performed by Hal Kuhns, pennywhistle and Amy Cann, fiddle, used by permission of the artists.

Readings by the poet are from a WNYC New York Public Radio Broadcast of “The Reader’s Almanac” on June 25, 1978.

Our thanks to WNYC Archive Collections for permission to use these excerpts of that program. The full interview may be accessed at: https://www.wnyc.org/story/william-mundell

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