Shakespeare & Co. is delighted to host a reading and discussion with Phil Burgess on Tuesday, June 17 at 7:00 pm. Phil will read from his new memoir The Bunch Quitter (self-published, June 2025). There will also be a musical introduction from Missoula songwriter Bob Wire. This event is free and open to the public.
About The Bunch Quitter:
In his latest book, Burgess recounts his journey from a hardscrabble ranch in Eastern Montana through his tour of Vietnam to going out on the road through a turbulent America. A true raconteur, Burgess’s stories evoke laughter, stir emotions, and leave lasting impressions. In this and other books, Burgess meditates on exile—both chosen and imposed—for he is what’s known in cow country as a bunch quitter: a creature that’s unwilling or unable to be herded, even at great cost. He reminds us that life on the road can liberate and imprison in equal measure.
Growing up, Burgess’s sleep was haunted by the cries of wild geese and the last wails of the Great Northern steam engines echoing across the Missouri River valley. When he went to Vietnam, he says he left behind a family shaped by the scars of war, the Great Depression, mental illness, inadequate healthcare, and reservation violence. After earning a college degree, Burgess received what he calls a “less formal but somewhat more intense education” as an Army officer in Vietnam, where he, as he says, managed to avoid being a hero.
In 1980, Burgess came to rest—geographically, if not spiritually—in the mountains of Western Montana. In 2005 he was nominated for the position of Montana’s first poet laureate. He has since dedicated his life to serving as a veteran’s spokesman and therapist, and to being a poet and a storyteller as he continues to reckon with the road, memory, and meaning.
Author Biography:
In addition to The Bunch Quitter, Philip Burgess has written three books of poetry, Henry’s Cows: Poetry by Philip J. Burgess; Penny Postcards and Prairie Flowers; and Badlands Child. In 2005, Burgess was nominated for the position of Montana’s first poet laureate. He was born in Eastern Montana and served as an officer in Vietnam, and then, after he returned to the US, he took to the road. He made his home in Western Montana, where he dedicates his life to serving as a veteran’s spokesman and therapist, and to being a poet and a storyteller as he continues to reckon with the road, memory, and meaning.
