April, 2008
Below:
Links from the Supporters' newsletter:
BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three (2008)
Also in the news:
Our newest Sponsor Supporters (and Renewing Sponsors)
And ...:
2008 BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three
We're pleased to announce the official release The BAR-D Roundup, Volume 3: 2008, the Center's third annual cowboy poetry compilation CD, on April 14, 2008. View a preview of the contents here.
Pre-release reviews are enthusiastic:
"If you hear somebody wonder at the 'why' of perpetuating the Western ethic, the Cowboy Way and particularly 'why cowboy poetry,' here's the answer for all of it. This collection clearly says what this important, artful communication of the heart conveys at its best."
Rick Huff, Best of the West ReviewsJoe Baker, The Backforty Bunkhouse
The Bar-D Roundup compilations represent the finest poets and the best in cowboy poetry. They are the real deal and a real contribution to not only to promoting and preserving our heritage but also in representing the cowboy arts."
"This is a CD to own and listen to often. It's like a full-course meal with each dish adding to the flavors and textures. The last poem is like dessert: the voice of Robert Service reciting his own 'The Cremation Of Sam McGee.' The previous two CD were good. This one is great."
PJ and Dallas McCord, hosts of The Cowboy Culture Corner
The Bar-D Roundup: Volume Three is a great meld of past and present. Anytime you can hear both Buck Ramsey and Robert Service in their own voices, plus Red Steagall, Paul Zarzyski and, well, me, you know you're running the iambic gamut! Another great ride.
Mick Vernon, Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival Artistic Director and Radio Ranch host
The CD is available for $20 and ...
Supporters renewing their support or making a new donation at the $100 or higher level receive the 2008 edition of The BAR-D Roundup and the Cowboy Poetry Week poster.
You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail to
the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133) or by a secure, on-line credit card payment through PayPal (a PayPal account is not required):CowboyPoetry.com is a project of The Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Act. Contributions to the Center are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes.
As in all journalistic endeavors, no editorial preference is given to financial sponsors or supporters.
Silent Auction
Thanks to the generosity of the organizers of the 2008 Stagecoach festival, we're pleased to have a Silent Auction for premium VIP tickets to their star-studded event, May 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2008, at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California. This is the second annual Silent Auction of Stagecoach tickets.
Western music and cowboy poetry performers include Wylie & the Wild West, Michael Martin Murphey, Waddie Mitchell, Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin, Riders in the Sky, Red Steagall, and Ian Tyson.
Read more about the auction and bidding here. Bidding closes Monday, April 21.
Proceeds from the Silent Auction benefit the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, which sponsors CowboyPoetry.com, Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library Project, and all of our activities.
2008 Cowboy Poetry Week
Reproduction prohibited without express written permission
"Waxed Jacket"
© 2006, William Matthews, www.williammatthewsgallery.comWe're celebrating the seventh annual Cowboy Poetry Week, April 20-26, 2008, and the event continues to grow. There are activities planned at libraries, in communities, and at established gatherings in (to date) Washington, Kansas, California, Missouri, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, and Nevada.
Just a few examples:
In Oklahoma, Center supporter Karen Neurohr, Oklahoma State University Librarian and Cathryn Christensen, Outreach Coordinator, OSU Rodeo Booster Club are co-coordinating the 3rd Annual Oklahoma Cowboy Poetry and Songs event, inspired by Cowboy Poetry Week. Karen Neurohr has spread the word of the work of the Center in presentations at library association meetings. This year, she put out a statewide notice that resulted in a number of interested rural libraries being added to the Rural Library Project.
In Washington state, Center supporter Sue Matley (of "Cimarron Sue and Nevada Slim") has organized events at five rural libraries and two other locations, in a busy schedule throughout her rural area. She has gathered books and CDs from generous poets and musicians for her local library's collection, to be donated during the library's Cowboy Poetry Week event.
In Georgia, The Booth Western Art Museum, Center supporters and sponsors of the Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering and the Southeastern Cowboy Festival and Symposium, have a statewide Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest, opened to students in grades 5 -12, with winners announced for Cowboy Poetry Week.
In Texas, Center supporter, poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick will take part in a program at her rural town's library, where she has also helped create a display for Cowboy Poetry Week. She also has scheduled performances at the local school and will deliver a cowboy poetry writing workshop in Abilene.
And there are many more activities, many noted here and on our calendar of events.
Twenty states' governors have recognized Cowboy Poetry Week, and proclamations are arriving for the 2008 celebration from most of those states.
We're honored to have master painter, designer, and musician William Matthews' painting, "Waxed Jacket," as the 2008 Cowboy Poetry Week poster.
Posters are not for sale. They are sent to rural libraries and to supporters.
the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133) or by a secure, on-line credit card payment through PayPal (a PayPal account is not required):You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail to
CowboyPoetry.com is a project of The Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Act. Contributions to the Center are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes.
As in all journalistic endeavors, no editorial preference is given to financial sponsors or supporters.
CowboyPoetry.com has daily updates of news, new and classic cowboy poetry and Western music lyrics, events, gathering reports, and other features. You'll always find the latest news here.
Preview two features:
A feature about Bill Siems' monumental book, Open Range; Collected Poems of Bruce Kiskaddon includes the book's complete list of Kiskaddon's poems (all 431), excerpts from the book, a rare Kiskaddon photo, and more.
Poet and writer Rod Miller—always fearless about entering the fray—shares his essay about free verse, "Free Range and Barbwire."
Also forthcoming:
Art Spur poems inspired by William Matthews "Waxed Jacket," selected as the image for the 2008 Cowboy Poetry poster, will be posted during Cowboy Poetry Week.
A special National Day of the Cowboy Art Spur will feature a photo by Wyoming photographer Chanda Snook. The Art Spur will be posted June 16, and poems will be posted for the National Day of the Cowboy, which takes place July 26, 2008.
A special note:
We hope to keep our popular weekly Picture the West feature going, but to do that, we need your help: Email us your photos. The feature, one of our most visited, is a growing treasury of photos that give a glimpse of the ranching, cowboy, and rural and working life of the West—from today and yesterday. It's a great way to share your heritage or your current way of life, and to help show our many visitors the real West. Please send your photos and stories.
Look for a great collection of vintage photos from photographer and journalist Jeri Dobrowski in "Picture the West" during Cowboy Poetry Week.
Our newest Sponsor Supporters
We are pleased to welcome the following new Sponsor supporters, added since our last Supporters' newsletter
The Booth Western Art Museum, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is an 80,000 square foot museum located in Cartersville, Georgia, where guests are invited to explore the American West through contemporary Western artwork. The Museum also houses a Presidential Gallery, Civil War art gallery, and Sagebrush Ranch – featuring hands-on art activities and areas for role-playing, storytelling and reading, all with a Western flair. Visitors to Booth Museum also enjoy the intimate downtown setting with unique specialty and antique shops, boutiques and nationally featured restaurants all within walking distance of the Museum. Open since August 2003, the Booth Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Southeast and is the second largest art museum in the state of Georgia. The museum sponsors the annual "Southeastern Cowboy Gathering" in March and the "Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium" in October.
As California poet Wendy Brown-Barry's web site tells, she has lived in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the Gold Rush-era town of Mariposa since 1971. Mariposa means "butterfly" in the Spanish language, and is often referred to as the "Gateway to Yosemite," being located only miles from Yosemite National Park. She and her husband Kevin live on the Round Tuit Ranch with their horses, dogs, and cats.
RATTLE is dedicating its Winter 2008 issue to Cowboy & Western poetry, and seeks your submissions. Based in Los Angeles, RATTLE is one of the widest-read poetry journals in the U.S., matching a populist stance with eclectic tastes for the last 14 years. They've published Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, and Poet Laureates—now they're hoping to add Lariat Laureates to the list.
Western Poetry Writers' Association
The Western Poetry Writers' Association is headquartered in Kanab, Utah. They meet regularly and hold events, including the annual "Utah, Arizona, Nevada (& Neighbors) Cowboy Poetry Gathering & 'Old Timers' Get Together," held in April in Kanab, Utah in April. The organization's mission is to "perpetuate western heritage through poetry."
As described on his web site, Michael Martin Murphey was inducted in the Western Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and is the best selling Cowboy Music Singer of our time. His music reflects his life and many wide-ranging interests. Michael's passions are to preserve the American Cowboy Western History, restore land back to its natural prairie state, and breed and raise Texas Longhorn Cattle, American Quarter Horses and American Paint Horses on his Rocking 3M Ranch.
Thanks to our renewing Sponsor supporters:
South Dakota rancher Ken Cook's cowboy poetry cuts a wide path, from the humorous "who'd a thunk it" mishaps involving kids, cattle and horses, right down an emotional trail reliving the years he spent horseback with his grandpa, Frank Buckles. He has had the privilege of entertaining folks in several states including a trip to the 23rd National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada as a featured performer. January, 2008 found him entertaining at the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
California poet Susan Parker was "born with a cowboy soul, growing up with a love for horses, cowboys, rodeos, and all things Western." She performs her own poetry and recites contemporary and classic poetry. She has a deep interest in the "vanishing voices" of women poets of the past, and is working on a project to help preserve and present those poets' material.
Stagecoach, an event created by Goldenvoice, has tents devoted to cowboy poetry, rural Americana and storytelling, along with Western music, bluegrass, and country music for the second annual event, May 2-4, 2008. This year's Western music and cowboy poetry performers include Wylie & the Wild West, Michael Martin Murphey, Waddie Mitchell, Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin, Riders in the Sky, Red Steagall, and Ian Tyson. Other performers include EAGLES, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, The Judds, John Fogerty, Trisha Yearwood, Dierks Bentley, Dwight Yoakam, Taylor Swift, Earl Scruggs, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins, Mike Ness, Glen Campbell & family, and many more.
Become a Sponsor Supporter
Sponsor supporters—and all supporters—are vitally important to the Center and CowboyPoetry.com. Among the sponsor benefits are a custom banner with a link on the most-visited pages at CowboyPoetry.com, including the front page, front news page, newsletter page, and Events Calendar, as well as text links included in our donor newsletter and our regular newsletter.
Event sponsors have their banners included with their event information on our widely-visited Events Calendar.
CowboyPoetry.com receives about 2.3 million "hits" each month, representing an average 127,000 monthly visitors (2008 data, as of April 1). We have an opt-in list of more than 4,000 subscribers for our regular email newsletter. A year-round banner reaches many interested people, and the cost (a tax-deductible contribution to the Center) is markedly less than the cost of equivalent print advertising.
You can be instrumental in interesting your organization, your gathering, and others who share our mission and audience to become Sponsor Supporters.
Read more about becoming a Sponsor supporter here.
Please Renew Your Support
Thanks to all of you for making CowboyPoetry.com and all of the Center's work possible.We look forward to continuing to send this Supporters' preview newsletter to current supporters.
Thanks to those of you who have, or are about to renew your support as the Center. Your continued annual support is essential to programs such as Cowboy Poetry Week, The BAR-D Roundup, The Rural Library Project, and CowboyPoetry.com.
When you renew at the $40 level and higher, you'll receive the 2008 Cowboy Poetry Week poster with William Matthews' impressive "Waxed Jacket" image. At the $100 level and higher, you'll receive the poster and the 2008 edition of The BAR-D Roundup.
You can make a tax-deductible donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail to PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133) or by a secure, on-line credit card payment through PayPal (a PayPal account is not required).
Your generosity today allows us to plan for tomorrow. We thank you and look forward to working together to continue to fulfill the Center's mission to serve rural populations and to promote and preserve our Western heritage.
Western Folklife Center
2006, 2007
Ken Cook
2006, 2007, 2008
V. June Blevins Collins
2007 and 2008
www.StagecoachFestival.com
2007, 2008
National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo
2007
Cowboy Poets of Utah
2007, 2008
Bullrider: The Movie
2007
Backforty Bunkhouse
2007, 2008
Clear Out West (C. O. W.)
2007, 2008
Susan Parker
2007, 2008
Saddle Up!
2007
Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival
2007
Wendy Brown-Barry
2008
RATTLE
2008
Western Poetry Writers' Association
2008
See your name and that of each of the Center's donors listed on the
Wall of Support
Your tax-deductible support is what makes CowboyPoetry.com and the work of the Center possible. We need more friends like you. Please continue to spread the word about the Center and CowboyPoetry.com to your friends and family, fellow poets and poetry fans, and others.
As always, we're interested in your comments and ideas.
What's New | Poems | Search
The BAR-D Roundup | Cowboy Poetry Week
Subscribe | Newsletter | Contact Us
Authors retain copyright to their work; obtain an author's
permission before using a poem in any form.
CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, Inc., a Federal and California tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.
