About The
BAR-D Roundup (2006)
The
BAR-D Roundup
is a treasury of outstanding selections of cowboy poetry. The CD
includes the
first recording of Buck Ramsey’s "Anthem"—a
poem that has been called "the
finest contemporary piece of writing in this tradition"—from
Buck Ramsey's Grass, with essays on his life and work, a new book and recording from Texas Tech
University Press. Buck Ramsey
is recognized as the “spiritual leader” of cowboy poetry, a National
Endowment for the Arts Fellow, who died in 1998.
Texas Poet Laureate
Red
Steagall
recites his modern classic, another sort of anthem, "Born to This Land."
"What’s Become of the Punchers?" by
Jack Thorp, America’s
first collector of cowboy music and poetry, is recited by music historian
and author Mark L. Gardner, from his recent book and recording,
Jack
Thorp's Songs of the Cowboys from The Press at the Palace of the
Governors, Museum of New Mexico.
Respected octogenarian
poet and working cowboy, Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee
Georgie
Sicking is
represented by a poem from the acclaimed documentary about her,
Ridin'
'n Rhymin'
by Far Away Films.
"Cow
on the Fight" comes from another well-loved octogenarian,
Colen
Sweeten,
highly regarded by his many friends and fellow poets.
Poems
by two prized and admired poets, both recently deceased, are included:
"Johnny Clare," by
Larry
McWhorter;
and
"Change on the Range," by Sunny
Hancock, recited by
Chris
Isaacs.
Additional
selections by contemporary poets reciting their original works and
classics, include pieces by Virginia
Bennett, Dennis Gaines, Yvonne
Hollenbeck, Pat Richardson,
Doris
Daley, DW
Groethe, Linda Kirkpatrick,
Mick
Vernon, A. K. Moss, Jay Snider, Jane
Morton, Andy
Hedges, Trey
Allen, Deanna McCall,
Mike Puhallo, Buckshot Dot (Dee
Strickland Johnson), Dick Morton,
Rod Nichols,
and Andy
Nelson.
Cowboy poetry is a vibrant folk form,
enjoyed for over a hundred years by readers and listeners who appreciate
the inspiration, history and humor embodied in its stories of the
working West. Its enduring popularity is celebrated at CowboyPoetry.com,
a central resource for cowboy poetry and
associated Western arts, a project of the non-profit
Center
for Western and Cowboy Poetry.
The Center's
Cowboy Poetry Week celebration -- recognized by unanimous resolution by the
U. S. Senate-- is held each April during National Poetry Month.
The
BAR-D Roundup CD and the celebration's poster are offered to rural libraries in
fulfillment of the Center's mission to preserve and promote our
Western heritage.
Poems and permissions were generously donated
by poets, musicians, families, publishers, and filmmakers.
The BAR-D Roundup was produced by the Center for Western and
Cowboy Poetry, made possible by generous funding support from
sustaining
donors. It is dedicated to all those
who carry on the ranching tradition.
See
detailed track descriptions with references here.
Track list
1. Mark Gardner,
"What's Become of the Punchers?" (Jack Thorp)
1:39
2. Red Steagall, "Born to This Land"
2:58
3. DW Groethe, "Yearlin' Heifers—Part
1" 1:59
4. A. K. Moss, "The Truth"
1:37
5. Dennis Gaines, "The Spandex Cowboy"
8:08
6. Jane Morton, "Yoo-hoo"
2:45
7. Pat Richardson, "Cowboy Banker"
1:24
8. Yvonne Hollenbeck, "What Would Martha Do?"
2:31
9. Doris Daley, "French Fries"
2:03
10. Chris Isaacs, "Change on the Range" (Sunny
Hancock) 4:54
11. Colen Sweeten, "Cow on the Fight"
3:01
12. Mike Puhallo, "Man in the Moon"
2:16
13. Virginia Bennett, "Dad Was Like a Colt"
0:31
14. Georgie Sicking, "The Greatest Sport"
1:39
15. Larry McWhorter, "Johnny Clare"
7:00
16. Mick Vernon, "Picayune Valley"
1:47
17. Linda Kirkpatrick, "When Roundup Time Comes
'Round" 1:58
18. Jay Snider, "300 Miles to Go"
3:24
19. Andy Hedges, "Boomer Johnson" (Henry Herbert
Knibbs) 2:55
20. Rod Nichols, "Yep"
1:46
21. Trey Allen, "Alone" (Bruce Kiskaddon)
1:01
22. Buck Ramsey, "Anthem"
4:33
23. Dick Morton, "A Cowboy's Prayer" (Badger Clark)
1:59
24. Dee Strickland Johnson - Buckshot Dot, "The End of the
Day" 1:18
25. Deanna McCall, "Endangered"
1:05
26. Andy Nelson, "Cowboy Poet"
1:00
27. Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry radio PSA, Jim Thompson
:30
All rights are reserved by
the artists and owners of the included tracks.
See
detailed track descriptions with references here.
The BAR-D Roundup was
produced by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, with generous funding
support from sustaining donors.
Acknowledgments: Special thanks to
Alf Bilton
for the initial idea; Andy
Nelson,
engineer and co-producer; Jim Thompson;
Joe
Baker; Sally Smith; William Braznell;
and the poets, reciters, publishers, families and filmmakers for their
permissions and poetry.
Order
Information
To order The BAR-D Roundup:
The BAR-D Roundup is
available, postpaid, for a $20 donation.
Proceeds from The BAR-D
Roundup support the Center. CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center.
You can order
by mail
using the form here or send $20 (check or money
order in U.S. funds) per copy to:
CowboyPoetry.com
PO Box 330444
San Francisco, CA 94133
Postage is included
for the U.S. and Canada. Add $5 US for other countries.
You can also pay by
a secure, on-line credit card payment (a Paypal account is not required):
CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry,
Inc. a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Service Act. Contributions are fully
deductible for federal income tax purposes. The BAR-D Roundup fair
market value is $15 and that amount is not deductible as a charitable
contribution.
Order
The BAR-D Roundup:
Volume Two (2007)
and The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three
(2008)
postpaid, for a $35 donation.
Proceeds support the
Center
for Western and Cowboy Poetry. CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center.
You can order
by mail
using the form here or send $35 (check or money
order in U.S. funds) for the two CDs:
CowboyPoetry.com
PO Box 330444
San Francisco, CA 94133
Postage is included
for the U.S. and Canada. Add $5 US for other countries.
Postage is included
for the U.S. and Canada.
Contact us for international postage fees.
You can also pay by
a secure, on-line credit card payment (a Paypal account is not required):
CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry,
Inc. a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Service Act. Contributions are fully
deductible for federal income tax purposes. The BAR-D Roundup fair
market value is $20 and no amount of the $20 donation for its postpaid delivery
is tax deductible as a charitable
contribution.
Questions about quantity orders?
Email
us.
The BAR-D
Roundup is also available from
Amazon
and
from:
Kansas
Saddlery
P O Box 97
Leon, KS 67074
316-745-0043
and from their booth at many gatherings
The
Cowboy Shop
129 W. Pine, PO Box 1640
Pinedale, Wyoming 82941
877-567-6336 (Toll Free), 307-367-4300
The
Western Folklife Center Gift Shop
501 Railroad Street
Elko, Nevada 89801
775-738-7508 ext. 234
What They're
Saying ... continued
from above
From
the
September 2006 issue of Western
Horseman, by Associate Editor Kyle Partain:
Printed with the permission of Western
Horseman and Kyle Partain, Copyright September, 2006
The BAR-D Roundup
Various Artists
A project of the nonprofit Center for
Western and Cowboy Poetry, The BAR-D Roundup provides a fine
collection of classic and contemporary poetry offerings that'll please
any fan of the genre.
The CD's final track, "Cowboy
Poet," sums up the collection. "He loves to battle with
words and cattle...He paints murals with words of life with family and
herds...As tradition dwindles, his poetry kindles the flame in a new
generation's day," Andy Nelson recites.
Topics on the collection range from
serious to humorous, from long days in the saddle, to difficult days
at the traveling circus. "The Spandex Cowboy" offers the
longest and most entertaining example of cowboy humor. Dennis Gaines
explains, "Col. Potter told me, 'Son, them duds has got to go.
There's rules that we must follow in the wrestling rodeo. You keep
your hat, you keep your boots, a cowboy's got his pride. You'll wear a
different outfit there upon your hide.' They brought me out a
wrestling rig that really made me blink. It was tight and it was
shiny. It was Spandex; it was pink."
Pat Richardson's "Cowboy
Banker" will bring an approving nod from those who understand the
costs associated with the western lifestyle. And Colen Sweeten sounds
like a been-there, done-that cowboy as he tackles "Cow on the
Fight." Another highlight is Andy Hedges' "Boomer
Johnson," the story of a truly killer cook."
Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry,
www.CowboyPoetry.com.
© 2006,
Western
Horseman
From
the Summer, 2006 issue of Cowboy Magazine,
by editor Darrell
Arnold:
The BAR-D Roundup
If you haven't ever checked
out the website CowboyPoetry.com, it might be time for you to do so [they
have] put together one of the best sites anywhere where folks can read and
read about quality cowboy poetry. On this new CD, [CowboyPoetry.com] has
collected some of the best cowboy poets, both contemporary and traditional.
Included here are excellent
original poems by noted poets Red Steagall, DW Groethe, A. K. Moss, Dennis
Gaines, Jane Morton, Pat Richardson, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Doris Daley, Colen
Sweeten, Mike Puhallo, Virginia Bennett, Georgie Sicking, Larry McWhorter,
Mick Vernon, Linda Kirkpatrick, Jay Snider, Rod Nichols, Buck Ramsey, Dee
Strickland Johnson, Deanna McCall, and Andy Nelson. In addition are
recitations of classic works by Mark Gardner, Chris Isaacs, Andy Hedges,
Trey Allen, and Dick Morton.
For those of us who love
cowboy poetry, this is perhaps the best anthology we've yet heard.
CowboyPoetry.com, P. O. Box
330444, San Francisco, CA 94133; CD, 26 poems, $20 ppd.
© 2006,
Cowboy Magazine
magazine; reprinted with permission
From
Marvin
O'Dell of Around the Campfire
broadcast on Classic
Heartland.
I suppose cowboy poetry is an acquired taste. However, it
doesn't take long to make that acquisition once you begin listening. The
Bar-D Roundup offers up a very nice platter of cowboy poetry that should
satisfy the tastebuds of all who sample. Just as one might blindfold one's
self for a taste test, I recommend turning off the television, eliminating
all distractions, sitting back with eyes closed while allowing the poets
from The Bar-D Roundup to serve you small portions of the cowboy
life. I'm confident that most listeners will find this feast satisfying and
themselves longing for more. I know of no better compilation of cowboy
poetry anywhere. And CowboyPoetry.com has done an excellent job of putting
this poetry on disc and packaging it. It's kind of like that box of
chocolates that Forrest Gump had sitting on his lap--you never know what's
inside each cut. This is delightful stuff!"
The
BAR-D Roundup News
The
BAR-D Roundup is cited as the top-most played cowboy
poetry CD on the Western Playlists in the Fall, 2006 edition of The
Western Way, the official publication of the
Western
Music Association. The BAR-D Roundup also was in first place in
the Spring, 2006 Western Playlists. The playlists are based on reports by
DJs, who are listed in the publication. The issue also includes O. J.
Sikes' Reviews, in which he calls The BAR-D Roundup
"one not to miss."
The Western Way
magazine is sent quarterly to members of the Western Music Association,
which welcomes cowboy poets as well as Western musicians. Visit the Western
Music Association Western
Music Association web site for membership information and more.
Posted 11/6/06
Marvin
O'Dell continues to air selected tracks from
The
BAR-D Roundup on
his Around the Campfire
show, a three-hour show broadcast four times a week on the internet's
Classic
Heartland.
Marvin
O'Dell has said of The BAR-D Roundup:
"I know of no better
compilation of cowboy poetry anywhere."
Marvin comments,
"I suppose cowboy poetry is an acquired taste. However, it
doesn't take long to make that acquisition once you begin listening. The
Bar D Roundup offers up a very nice platter of cowboy poetry that should
satisfy the tastebuds of all who sample. Just as one might blindfold one's
self for a taste test, I recommend turning off the television, eliminating
all distractions, sitting back with eyes closed while allowing the poets
from The Bar D Roundup to serve you small portions of the cowboy
life. I'm confident that most listeners will find this feast satisfying and
themselves longing for more. I know of no better compilation of cowboy
poetry anywhere. And CowboyPoetry.com has done an excellent job of putting
this poetry on disc and packaging it. It's kind of like that box of
chocolates that Forrest Gump had sitting on his lap--you never know what's
inside each cut. This is delightful stuff!"
Previously, Around the
Campfire has featured other selections from The BAR-D Roundup,
including
Trey
Allen's recitation of Bruce Kiskaddon's
"Alone"; Jay Snider's "300 Miles to
Go";
Red
Steagall's "Born to this Land";
A. K. Moss'
"The Truth";
Doris
Daley's "French Fries"; Mick
Vernon's "Picayune Valley"; Linda Kirkpatrick's "When Roundup
Time Comes 'Round"; Pat Richardson's
"The Cowboy Banker"; Yvonne Hollenbeck's "What
Would Martha Do?"; Deanna McCall's
"Endangered"; Rod Nichols' "Yep";
Virginia
Bennett's "My Dad Was Like a Colt"; and Mark
Gardner's recitation of Jack Thorp's "What's
Become of the Punchers?"
Around the Campfire
featured
extended cowboy poetry selections throughout the month of June, 2006.
See our feature about
Around
the Campfire here. See the
show's playlists here
at Classic Heartland.
Updated 11/2/06
The
Clear Out West
(C. O. W.) radio show, hosted by Jim and
Andy Nelson,
features The
BAR-D Roundup on many of its shows. C. O. W. is broadcast to many radio stations and available for listening on demand from the
Clear
Out West web site.
Previously, in a celebration of
Cowboy Poetry
Week, in their program airing the week of April 17, 2006, the C. O. W. boys featured
Rod Nichols'
"Yep," Deanna McCall's
"Endangered," A. K. Moss' "The
Truth," and Jay Snider's "300 Miles to
Go" from
The
BAR-D Roundup. Other shows have featured additional poems from
the CD, including Mike Puhallo's "The Man in the
Moon" on the week of July 3 show; DW
Groethe's "Yearlin' Heifers" on the week of June 26 show;
Andy
Hedges' recitation of Henry Herbert Knibbs' "Boomer
Johnson" on the week of June 19 show; Pat Richardson's
"The Cowboy Banker" on the week of May 27, 2006 show;
Colen
Sweeten's "Cow on the Fight" the week of June 5; and
Jane
Morton's "Yoo Hoo" the week of June 12;
"Johnny Clare," by
Larry
McWhorter on July 24; Dick Morton's recitation of
"A Cowboy's Prayer" by Badger Clark, the week of August
7; and Chris
Isaacs' recitation of "Change on the
Range" by Sunny
Hancock, the week of August 21;
"What Would Martha Do?," by
Yvonne
Hollenbeck the week of August 28; "The Greatest Sport" by
Georgie
Sicking the week of September 18; "The End of the
Day"
by Buckshot Dot (Dee
Strickland Johnson) the week of September 25; and "Picayune Valley" by
Mick
Vernon the week of October 17, 2006. Past
shows are archived here.
The show also includes a many good music selections and the unpredictable
banter and antics of the Nelson brothers.
[photo by Stuart Johnson]
Updated 12/13/06
In his OJ Corral column
in the September/October 2006 issue of
Rope Burns,
O.
J. Sikes calls
The
BAR-D Roundup "...one not to miss."
O. J. Sikes is the host of
Western
Music Time on BostonPete.com, and his reviews appear in Rope Burns,
The Western Way, and in other publications and on web sites. He's the
recipient of the Western Music Association's prestigious Bill Wiley Award
and the Academy of Western Artists' John A. Lomax Award.
Posted 9/11/06
Read
the full text of recent reviews of
The
BAR-D Roundup from the
September, 2006 issue of Western
Horseman, by Associate Editor Kyle Partain and from the Summer, 2006 issue of
Cowboy Magazine,
by editor Darrell
Arnold right here. Our thanks to
both magazines for their permissions to reprint the reviews.
Posted 9/4/06
Top singer, songwriter, and musician Wylie Gustafson
of Wylie and the Wild West comments on
The BAR-D Roundup,
"What a
refreshing CD of cowboy poetry...never a dull moment. I appreciate
the diversity, depth,
and just plain good poetry."
Posted 8/22/06
In
the September 2006 issue of Western
Horseman, Associate Editor Kyle Patrain reviews
The BAR-D Roundup,
writing that it "provides a fine collection of classic and contemporary
poetry offerings that'll please any fan of the genre." He singles
out poems by Andy Nelson,
Dennis Gaines,
Pat Richardson,
Colen
Sweeten, and Andy
Hedges' recitation of Henry Herbert Knibbs' "Boomer
Johnson."
Posted 8/21/06
Waynetta
Ausmus, host of Waynetta's
Western Roundup, has been playing sections from
The
BAR-D Roundup.
She comments, "What a fine compilation of cowboy poetry; makes you want
to listen 'just one more time'!" Recent shows have featured
Pat Richardson's
"The Cowboy Banker"; Larry
McWhorter's
"Johnny Clare"; Rod Nichols'
"Yep"; and Doris
Daley's "French Fries." You can listen to
archived broadcasts of the hour-long Waynetta's
Western Roundup at her web site. The show features Western music,
Western swing, classic country, cowboy poetry and storytelling. There are also
archives or her interview series,
Heroes
of the West and Hide &
Horn, her short stories in the spirit of the West at her site,
www.WaynettaAusmus.com.
Posted 7/28/06
The Summer, 2006 issue
of the Western Music Association's
Western Way magazine's Western Playlists list
The BAR-D Roundup
as #1 in the Cowboy Poetry Album category.
Posted 7/26/06
"Toe Tappin' Tommy
Tucker, KRLC (Idaho) Music Director and host of the
The
Western Heritage Show, writes about The BAR-D Roundup
in the June, 2006 Happy Trails,
"Cowboy poets don't seem to get enough recognition or air play on
radio stations across the country. But in honor of Cowboy Poetry Week a
special compilation was released called The BAR-D Roundup. For the
poetry buffs reading this review, this is a keeper! With 27 poets
displaying their talents with a wide range of cowboy poetry, such icons
as Red
Steagall, Pat Richardson,
Yvonne
Hollenbeck, Mike Puhallo,
Doris
Daley, DW
Groethe, and A. K. Moss, to name a few of the artists. Some
poems make you cry, some make you reflect, and some are down right
funny!"
The
Western Heritage Show airs each Friday from 10:00 to
noon on KRLC in Lewiston, Idaho. The show features cowboy poetry and western
music, live performances, a regular crew of local poets and musicians, and the phone lines are
always open to callers. Cowboy poetry and western music CDs are
welcome. Read more in our feature here.
Posted
7/24/06
Now at
Amazon.com,
you can sample the audio for each of the tracks from The
BAR-D Roundup.
Posted 6/26/06
The
Summer, 2006 issue of Cowboy Magazine
reviews The
BAR-D Roundup and says, "For those of us who love cowboy
poetry, this is perhaps the best anthology we've yet heard."
Posted
6/19/06
The
new newsletter on
line at the British Columbia Cowboy Heritage
Society (BCCHS) includes a
review
of
The
BAR-D Roundup. Editor Mark McMillan calls the CD a "super
compilation" and a "must have CD."
Posted
5/22/06
Smoke
Wade (pictured) tells us that
Toe
Tappin' Tommy Tucker's Western Heritage radio show, out
of
Lewiston, Idaho, chose Pat Richardson's
"The Banker" for the show's debut of The BAR-D
Roundup for airplay on Friday, May 12, 2006. The popular
show, in which Smoke takes part along with other regulars
Charlie
Camden, Kathy Camden, and Bodie
Dominguez, celebrated Cowboy Poetry Week on April 21, 2006, with poetry,
interviews, and more.
Posted 5/18/06
The
BAR-D Roundup is now available at
Amazon.com.
Posted 5/17/06
Mick
Vernon's weekly Radio Ranch
plays selections from
The
BAR-D Roundup. The program, sponsored by the
Monterey Cowboy Poetry
& Music Festival, airs each Sunday from 5pm to 7pm on KNRY 1240 AM
(and live on the web at www.knry.com)
in California's "Santa Cruz, Salinas & Monterey -- where the West
really
began."
Posted 4/16/06
Joe Baker of the
Back
Forty Bunkhouse plays tracks from from
The
BAR-D Roundup on
his radio program, which airs live every
Saturday morning from 6am to 10am on two 100,000 watt stations covering New
Mexico and West Texas: "New Mexico's Bear"
KNMB
96.7FM and "W-105" KWMW, 105.1FM.
Joe distributed the CD to his extensive network of
western radio stations, and its cover is the cover of the April, 2006
Back
Forty Roundup. Read more about Joe, his program, and his
distribution services for musicians and poets at the Back Forty Bunkhouse
web site.
Posted 4/14/06
Ken Overcast's acclaimed program, The
Cowboy Show will include
The
BAR-D Roundup on in
its regular monthly show giveaway. The show is heard on over 50 stations and
broadcast on Classic Heartland
on Saturdays and Sundays.
You can
sign
up for the monthly free giveaway at Ken's site, which will
puit
you on Ken's newsletter list.
Posted 4/13/06
Photo by
Jeri L. Dobrowski,
obtain permission for reproduction rights
Rex Rideout,
Georgie Sicking, Mark
L. Gardner, and DW Groethe, each included on The BAR-D Roundup,
pose at Cody's
Annual
Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads gathering, in April, 2006
Posted
4/10/06
South Dakota's Live
With Jim Thompson! program was the first to broadcast
The
BAR-D Roundup for
internet listeners. The show celebrates Cowboy Poetry Week on its
daily show, April 16-20, 2006 with cowboy poetry, special guests, and a
daily poster and CD give-away for listeners. Broadcast daily at 1:00
PM (Mountain), you can listen live on
the web.
Updated
4/13/06
About The BAR-D Roundup and
Cowboy Poetry Week
The Fifth Annual
Cowboy Poetry Week took place April 16-22, 2006.
The week recognizes this
venerable and popular folk form, as vibrant today as it was over a hundred
years ago, during the days of the great cattle drives.
Cowboy
poetry is enjoyed by an ever-increasing number of readers and
listeners who appreciate the humor, inspiration, and history embodied in
its stories of the working West.
Cowboy
Poetry Week is celebrated by a
variety of events in communities across the West, by individuals, groups,
libraries, schools, and radio stations.
"Heading
Home," a painting by Joelle Smith (1957-2005) was selected as the
2006 Cowboy Poetry Week poster
art and the cover art for
The BAR-D Roundup, a
compilation CD recording of top classic and contemporary poetry.
Both the poster and CD are offered to rural libraries across the West,
as a part of the mission of CowboyPoetry.com and the
Center
for Western and Cowboy Poetry
to preserve and promote cowboy poetry and our
western heritage.
Inaugurated
by CowboyPoetry.com in 2002, Cowboy Poetry Week was officially recognized
by unanimous resolution of the United States Senate.
The celebration is held during the third week of April each year,
in conjunction with National Poetry Month.
Poets get involved with activities including poetry events, readings and
programs at schools, libraries, and community centers. They petition their governors to proclaim Cowboy Poetry Week in their
states, and sixteen governors issued proclamations for their
states in 2006: Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. of Utah, Governor David
D. Freudenthal of Wyoming, Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski of Oregon,
Governor Kenny C. Guinn of Nevada, Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona,
Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington, Governor Matthew Roy Blount
of Missouri, Governor Bill Owens of Colorado, Governor Rick Perry of
Texas, Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Governor Mike Rounds
of South Dakota, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Oklahoma
Governor Brad Henry, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, Idaho Governor Dirk Arthur
Kempthorne, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
In the words of
the Senate resolution sponsor, Senator Conrad Burns of Montana
"...it is important to understand that cowboys live and breathe a
unique culture which few may be exposed to. I would encourage all my
colleagues to take a walk in their boots one day, and read a little cowboy
poetry."
Cowboy poetry's
enduring popularity is celebrated year round at CowboyPoetry.com, in a
growing number of publications and recordings, and at hundreds of regional
gatherings, most notably the Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in
Elko,
Nevada, which marked its 22nd year in 2006.
CowboyPoetry.com
is a central resource for cowboy poetry and associated Western arts, a
project of the non-profit Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry.
Read more about Cowboy Poetry Week, including selected references and links
and see news about poets' activities here.
About the cover
art, "Heading Home," by Joelle Smith
The BAR-D Roundup cover art is
from "Heading
Home," by Joelle
Smith. We are honored to have "Heading Home," also, as
our the official poster for Cowboy Poetry Week,
2006.
Joelle Smith's work is
familiar to many in the posters she has done for Cowboy
Poetry and Music Gatherings, including the Santa Clarita Cowboy
Poetry and Music Festival, the Monterey Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival,
the Visalia Roundup; for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame; and for
Western music albums, including those for Don Edwards, Lorraine
Rawls, and Wylie and the Wild West.
Joelle got her first pony,
George, when she was ten. This was not the start of her love of horses,
but was the first real horse that came into her life. She even chose the
college she attended because they had a school pasture where she could
keep her horse.
Joelle's life revolved
around her love of horses, both in her work and in the rest of her life.
She lived with her mother, Sally, on twenty acres in Alfalfa, Oregon,
along with seven horses. Sally contributes as secretary for Joelle's
business, as well as chief cookie baker. She has become known as
"Cookie Mom" at Joelle's shows for the cookies that she
brings.
Joelle spent her mornings with the horses and painted in the afternoons
and evenings. The horses came first in her life just as they came
first in her daily schedule.
Her favorite subject was horses, and these she painted with true
passion. "The art came from the horses," she explained.
The love of horses was always there and so was the art, but the horses
came first."
All of Joelle's subjects were real horses, real places and real people.
She did not pose them for her paintings, but tried to capture a slice of
life in a documentary style. Many of the horses in her paintings are her
own, as they were close by. She made at least two trips out of the
area a year to gather material.
Joelle's work is a reflection of her experiences on ranches throughout
the West. Her paintings are records of contemporary Western life,
her legacy to future generations.
Joelle was invited to
display her work at the 2006 Prix de West at the National Cowboy and
Western Heritage Museum, an accomplishment she strived for during her
entire career.
On August 5, 2005, Joelle lost her valiant
three year battle with cancer. Though her physical presence here
on earth is and will always be greatly missed, her legacy of work will
live on.
Ranchers TJ and Nate
Wald
of Lodge Grass, Montana, are the pictured riders in "Heading
Home."
Nate
Wald is a respected rawhide braider and a member of the
Traditional
Cowboy Arts Association. T. J. Wald is a Vintage Dance Mistress. She
teaches and she manages the annual
1876
Grand Ball in Hardin, Montana, and the
1864
Grand Ball in Virginia City, Montana, and other Vintage Dance
Events.
TJ Wald kindly shared some memories of
Joelle and of how the painting came about:
Of course we have grand
memories of the photograph and several others that Joelle took herself at
our ranch, and painted, as well.
She came and stayed for several days. We had to ride out and gather some
cows belonging to a neighbor. (Joelle was really happy that we had to
do that.) So, she took her camera along and snapped many photos.
By the way, Joelle was a very good hand.
It was a beautiful day and the sky looked just like it does in the painting.
Joelle sort of rode back behind people so she could get the shots she wanted
and when we would turn to look for her she would be snapping pictures.
The next day my husband Nate asked Joelle if she would like to go along to a
neighbor's place to move some cattle. Joelle said, "Oh, would
I" ... and she had a terrific time. They were gone all day
long and I was very surprised that Joelle was not really very tired when she returned.
(She was not well at the time but no one would have known that.)
Joelle was an amazingly strong woman.
We have so many paintings from her visit with us and we cherish all of them.
Our son Jackson was the model for "High Trot" by Joelle on
Capriola's 2005 calendar. She drew a beautiful pencil of Jackson's horse
"Dan" that we totally love and look at fondly while being reminded
of her visit.
People who pass away are remembered by their families and friends for
as long as possible but a person like Joelle will be remembered by
many, many people who had never even met her thanks to her gift.
How to submit
a poem for consideration for future compilations
As Andy Nelson quipped, we need
a CD as big as a pizza to include all of the poems we'd like to include on the
annual cowboy poetry compilation CD.
Selections are made by
invitation, and from the CDs in our library. You are welcome to submit a CD or
a track by mail for consideration. The receipt of such submissions will be
acknowledged, but we regret that we don't have the resources to comment
further on CDs or tracks. All that are received are listened to and
considered.
If you've submitted a CD
previously and want to suggest a particular track for consideration, please
email
us with that information.
As always, we're looking for
quality: well written poems, well recited, on a professional-quality
recording.
Also, for this project, there
are these considerations:
-
poetry must be your
original poetry or be in the public domain or be used with written
permission (supplied to us) by the author, who must also be willing to
permit reproduction of the track, without compensation or royalties
The CD will be offered to rural
libraries, will be distributed to radio stations for air play, will be used as
a premium for supporters of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, and may
be sold.
Those donating tracks receive a copy of the recording. There is no
additional payment and no royalties are paid.
We're continually considering
selections for forthcoming annual compilation CDs.
Send submissions to:
CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133.
Please Support
CowboyPoetry.com
The BAR-D Roundup was
produced by the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry,
made possible by the generous funding
support of sustaining donors.
If you appreciate projects
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Become a
supporter, make a donation, perhaps in memory of someone who treasured our
Western Heritage: Make a difference.
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