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CowboyPoetry.com is taking a (rare) break for the
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
Updates resume Tuesday, February 7.
Join us:  tune into the the cybercasts from the gathering and
follow the Western Folklife Center blog.

Look for the 2012 Cowboy Poetry Week information on our return.


 

News  1/31

                  
Newest
Back at the Ranch supporters' newsletter; Waddie Mitchell to receive Nevada Heritage Award; Western Horseman; Ranch & Reata; Persimmon Hill; Cowboy Song Tradition exhibit; Mark Gardner and PBS American Experience: Billy the Kid; Romance Maker: The Watercolors of Charles M. Russell at the Amon Carter Museum; Western Horseman with Jessica Hedges and more; Texas Cowpuncher (Part One); and more
...



News Bits and Links 1/31

News stories, features, web links, items of interest from the web, social media, and you. Newest below.

 

Features  1/30

                
Newest:  Picture the West; Rick Huff's Western Air; Jeri Dobrowski's January Cowboy Jam Session; Rick Huff's Best of the West reviews; Andy Wilkinson; Johnie Schneider; Christmas Art Spur; Jared Rogerson; Henry Real Bird; Scott Nelson;  Art Spur; Shawn CameronWestern Air; Gary E. Brown on early Western cinema; Rod Miller's "Get Up On Your Hind Legs and Howl"; and more ...

 

28th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (January 30-February 4, 2011)   1/31

  News and information in a special feature here.



BAR-D News  1/30

   
Newest:  BAR-D Supporters (updated 1/30);  Annual tally; Facebook and Twitter; CowboyPoetry.com information cards; and more...




Western and Cowboy Poems and Songs: New, Old, and Classic  1/30


Newest:  traditional and Dee Strickland Johnson

Previously:  Henry Herbert Knibbs, DW Groethe, Jim Crotts, Paulette Armstrong Nye, Terri Kirby Erickson, Curley Fletcher, Mike Beck, Keith Chadwell, Doc Stovall, Jim Cathey, Phil LeNoir , Larry McWhorter, Larry Bradfield, Bill Hickman, Elaine Fields Smith, S. Omar Barker, Dennis Gaines, Ken Cook, Jim Hursey, James Barton Adams, Rod Nichols, New Year poems and toasts, S. Omar Barker, Carole Jarvis, Bob Petermann, Jo Lynne Kirkwood, and many more ...

About permissions and copyrights


 

If you care, if you can: Be a part of it all  1/30

All of our programs—CowboyPoetry.com, Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library Project, and all of the activities of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry—are made possible by the support of a generous community of people like you. If you care, if you can, please help with your support.

Read more here.

Get the Cowboy Poetry Week poster, available exclusively to supporters; The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six; and other benefits. Read about support levels and benefits. Visit the Wall of Support, read comments from other supporters, and read about the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry...



The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six   News and radio play updated 1/26

The 2011 CD, The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six  includes the voices of J.B. Allen, Jerry Brooks, Doris Daley, Elizabeth Ebert, Don Edwards, DW Groethe, Linda M. Hasselstrom, Andy Hedges, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Sam Jackson, Carole Jarvis, Linda Kirkpatrick, Larry McWhorter, Abi McWhorter, Rod Miller, Waddie Mitchell, Dick Morton, Jane Morton, Andy Nelson, Joel Nelson, Rodney Nelson, Buck Ramsey, Pat Richardson, Randy Rieman, Bob Schild, Jay Snider, and Red Steagall, with a Public Service Announcement by Brenn Hill.

Read about The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six and previous volumes here.

The BAR-D Roundup News and radio playupdated 1/
26

                       
Newest: 
Totsie Slover's Real West from the Old West; Jarle Kvale's Back at the Ranch; Charley Engel's Calling All Cowboys; Graham Lees' The Western Hour; Andy and Jim Nelson's Clear Out West (C.O.W.); Waynetta Ausmus' Waynetta's Roundup and Storytime; Examiner.com review; Tommy Tucker's Western Heritage Show;  BAR-D Roundup comprehensive index; Hugh McLennan's Spirit of the West; and more ...


 


EVENTS


Event Announcements     1/31
Your announcements are welcome. Find submission info here.
Below are links to event details, supplied by organizers. See the
complete Events calendar here

               
Newest:  26th Annual Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
(Texas-February); Mesquite Western Round-Up (Nevada -February); 19th Annual Santa Clarita Festival updated 1/26 (California-April); 9th Annual Columbia River Cowboy Gathering and Western Music Festival (Washington-April);  Scofield's Cowboy Campfire at Red Mule Ranch (California-June through September); Second Annual Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous (Utah-March)...

,,,Lewis Clark Cowboy Entertainment & Western Arts Festival (Idaho-March); Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering (Washington-February); Saddle Up! at Pigeon Forge (Tennessee-February); Sierra Valley Grange Cowboy Show (California-March); National Council for Traditional Arts Don't Fence Me In (Washington, California, Oregon-February, March); Heritage of the American West (South Dakota-2012 dates)...

...Clear Out West (C.O.W.) cruise (Alaska-September, 2012); 18th Annual Montana Country Poets & Pickers Gathering (Montana-February); Fifth Annual Tyrone Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering (New Mexico-May); and 28th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (Nevada-January).

The above links are announcements received from event organizers; find the complete Events calendar here.



Gathering and Event Reports    1/19

  Newest:  When the Work's All Done This Fall; 4th Annual Diamond Field Jack Cowboy Poetry Gathering; NILE Stock Show, Pro Rodeo and Western Expo Entertainment Stage; Martin South Dakota Centennial Finale; 20th annual Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Old West DaysCowboy Poetry Gathering at ArenaFest; 1st Annual Sawtooth/Salmon River Cowboy Poetry And Western Music Festival; and many more..

 

 

MORE FEATURES

 

Picture the West (Send your photos)  1/30

Your photos, old and new, of the ranching, cowboy, and rural and working life of the West

   T. Scot Wilburn's vintage photos of family musicians, including those in the Snake River Outlaws band

Previous postings: Yvonne Hollenbeck's photo of 1950's Western entertainers;Retired Oregon rancher Byrl Keith Chadwell's family saw mill photos, circa 1920; Colorado rancher and poet Terry Nash shares pictures of gathering bulls; Andy Nelson, Brenn Hill, and friends on southwestern Montana's Beaverhead River;  Utah photographer Nchole Crowley's images "through the eyes of a little buckaroo"; Jean Mathisen Haugen's vintage photo of the Lander, Wyoming stockyards; Stan Howe's photos and reminiscences of the old home place in Montana; Colorado photographer and working ranch wife Nikole Morgan's cowboy images; Jim Olsen's ranch view in southern Arizona;and many more....

Index of all Picture the West postings

 


Looking For: Poets and Poetry, Musicians, Artists, and...    1/26

     
Newest:  4th Annual "Cowboy Idol" competition
(deadline February 29);  West River History Conference call for papers (deadline September 1, 2012);  RANGE magazine Outback Digital Roundup 2012 photography competition (deadline February 10); Western Music Association Western Wordsmiths Chapter; Live! with Jim Thompson...

... Montana Country Poets and Pickers (February, 2012); Range Radio; Poetry at the Cowboys & Indians site; Cowboy poetry for public television outlets; and Families of Gil Traveller and Frank Burns

 

 

MORE NEWS

 

Poets, Musicians, & Others in the News in Print, on the Web, & Beyond   1/25
Your news is welcome. Find submission information here.

                          
Newest:  Jarle Kvale and Back at the Ranch
;
Keith Ward in Toro Magazine; The Western Way; Linda Kirkpatrick's latest Somewhere in the West column; Rodney Nelson's latest Up Sims Creek column; Hal Cannon; Sally Bates in Cowboys & Indians; Linda Hasselstrom in Orion Magazine; Gillette Brothers in Western Folklife Center blog; Gary Brown in Smoke Signals; Jeri Dobrowski reviews Baxter Black books; and more...


New Cowboy and Western Poetry & Music Releases   1/30
Your new release news is welcome. Find submission info here.
Also see Rick Huff's Best of the West reviews here and Jeri Dobrowski's Cowboy Jam Session here.

       
Newest: Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot")'s Along the Arizona Trail
; Jess Howard's Live in Elko;
Tom Kerlin's First Time Out; Wylie & the Wild West's Rocketbuster; Kent Rollins' Prairie Dogs and Pastures; Dave Stamey's Twelve Mile Road; Patty Clayton's Dancin' in Denver; and more ...


Other Books, Recordings, Publications of Western Interest   1/30

        
Newest:  Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot")'s The Mystery of Little Nepo; an Arizona Story
; Doc Stovall's The Place Where I Worship; Texas Cowpuncher; A Free and Hardy Life;
Eli Barsi's A Merry Prairie Christmas; Jean Prescott's America—Home Sweet Home; Rene Heil's Dust and Smoke: Top Hands and Pretty Loops; Buck DVD and more...


Good News   

Accomplishments, important birthdays, good works, weddings, anniversaries, babies, awards ... news of families and communities...send us yours...

Newest:  Jennifer Dobrowski and Brent Rogers wed; ShyAnn Snider, barrel racing champion; Briggs Hill, three-year cancer survivor; Maggie Rose Hedges; Harry Hanson turns 97; Don Kennington turns 80; Joe Dobrowski, 105, Parade Marshal; Cash Culver Isaacs; Wylie Gustafson and Amber Hofstad; Champion Brandi Hollenbeck; Patti Morgan and Michael Whitaker wed; Tom Morgan and Haven for Hope; Shannon Teeters and Paul Harris wed; and more....



In Our Thoughts  1/26 

Never Forgotten: Tyler Plummer, 1978-2012 (updated 1/26); Louise Serpa, 1925-2011; Jim Cook, died January 10, 2012; Bob Huff 1931-2011Tom Ryan, 1922-2011; Bill Horn 1938-2011); Marvin Lee Brown, Jr. 1925-2011 (updated 12/19); Lynn Owens, died November 4, 2011; Kell Robertson 1930-2011; and others...

 In Our Thoughts: Darlene McNaught;  Milton Taylor, and others...

 



Awards News   

Newest:  True West Best of the West; Western Music Association Awards; Academy of Western Artists Awards; Western Writers of America 2012 Spur Award entries open; Western Music Association awards nominations announced; and more.

 


AND...

 

American Life in Poetry  1/30

Past United States Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry column, updated weekly. Most recent poem here.

 

Art Spur  

Art inspires poetry and song...

copyright 2011 Shawn Cameron, "Mornings on Horseback," reproduction prohibited  Arizona artist, poet, and fourth-generation rancher Shawn Cameron's "Mornings on Horseback."  Submissions are now closed.  A new Art Spur is coming in February, 2012.

Find selected poems from Ken Cook, Jeff Hildebrandt, Susan Matley, Robert Atkin, Slim McNaught, Jean Haugen, Bette Wolf Duncan, Daniel Bybee, Merv Webster, and Charles (C.W.) Bell here.

 

Western Memories

Ranch histories and Western recollections. Share your stories...

Newest: Janice Lee Weiss Truitt's vintage family photos from Nocona, Texas; Bette Wolf Duncan's "Red River Valley Early Pioneers"; Jean Mathisen Haugen's "Ernest Hornecker"; Peggy Malone's "The Ol' Gully Ranch"; Sam Jackson's "Sheepherder Tents"; Smoke Wade's "The Crossing," a part of his Snake River ranch history; Bette Wolf Duncan's "Memories of Alvin Wolf," Bette Wolf Duncan's "Goin' for Broke"; Paul Kern's "A Little Perspective on Losing Target"; Janice Lee Weiss Truitt's Christmas at the Community Hall"; and more.


Who Knows?

Questions with and without answers. Seeking poems, their authors, and more ...maybe you can help?


10th Annual Cowboy Poetry Week
(2011)   The 2012 announcements are coming in February.

We celebrated the tenth annual Cowboy Poetry Week, April 17-23, 2011.  Find 2011 news, activities, events, and reports  here, with the latest updates here.
 

 


See a  list of features at the BAR-D here.


 

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News

  The Back at the Ranch e-newsletter was sent Tuesday, January 31 to the generous supporters of CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. The occasional newsletter includes previews of news and forthcoming features and projects from CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry.

Contact us if you are a supporter who did not receive the newsletter. Find information about supporting the BAR-D here.

Posted 1/31


Top cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell will receive the 2012 Nevada Heritage Award from the Nevada Arts Council during the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering on February 2, 2012.

From the official media release:

Mitchell was nominated by the Western Folklife Center and supported by letters from his community of Elko, as well as the community of cowboy and western poets. “Waddie Mitchell has become an icon of Nevada, of buckaroo culture (cowboys of the Great Basin), and of cowboy poetry itself,” wrote Charlie Seemann, director of the Western Folklife Center.

The Nevada Heritage Award honors Nevada folk artists and tradition bearers who are the finest and most influential masters of their particular art form(s) and who have had a significant impact on the people and communities of the state.

Waddie Mitchell is a popular and respected cowboy poet and exponent of western heritage and Buckaroo traditions; a gifted performer and teacher of cowboy poetry and oral traditions; a veteran cowboy and rancher; and a skilled interpreter of the history and environment of the Great Basin from the perspective of the cowboy/rancher.
....

Created in 2010, the Nevada Heritage Award honors and recognizes Nevada master folk and traditional artists who, at the highest level of excellence and authenticity, carry forward the folk traditions of their families and communities through practice and teaching.
....

Waddie Mitchell was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in November, 2011. See our news item about the award here.

Find more about Waddie Mitchell in our feature here and at WaddieMitchell.com (where there are two audio poems).

Waddie Mitchell recites his poem, "No Second Chance" on The BAR-D Roundup, Volume Five and Larry McWhorter's poem, "Cowboy Count Yet Blessings," along with Larry McWhorter, on The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six.

[photo by Donald Kallus]

Posted 1/25


  The February, 2012 edition of Western Horseman magazine, with a cover by artist Clark Kelley Price, features Senior Editor Jennifer Denison's "Chronicle of a Cowgirl Camp Cook," about her experience at Kent Rollins' (pictured) Red River Chuck Wagon Boot Camp. She writes that the days spent there, "...were about more than cooking or earning a diploma. They were meant for sharing, becoming a family, preserving traditions and gaining a little wisdom we can apply to our daily lives." (Find more about Kent Rollins in our feature here.)

Jennifer Denison also devotes a generous amount of space to a review of writer, poet, and ranch hand Amy Hale Auker's recent, acclaimed collection of essays, Rightful Place. She writes, "...Auker's eloquent, descriptive narratives fill readers' imaginations with vivid imagery, and intimately connect them to her and the West." (Find more about Amy Hale Auker in our feature here.)

The February issue, which is a special travel issue, also includes a feature, "Small Towns, Cowboy Charm," about 10 "favorite small towns with the most authentic cowboy ambiance," which includes Elko, Nevada, home of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering; Alpine Texas, home of the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering; Prescott, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering; and Wickenburg, Arizona, home of the Cowboy Christmas Poets Gathering. There is also a "Travel and Adventure Guide" with a focus on  equine adventures.

Also included in the February issue: Assistant Editor Kate Bradley's articles about working cattle ranches that welcome working guests, about California's Varian family's V6 Ranch, and about the Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center; Contributing Editor Ryan T. Bell's story on a national network of riding trails that follow abandoned railroad lines; Western Horseman publisher Darrell Dodd's report on a David Stoecklein photography workshop; part one of Susan Morrison's three-part series on a colt, "Moon," being trained by Mozaun McKibben; Guy de Galard's interview with Wyoming blacksmith Jill Sorenson; Editor Ross Hecox' article about the status of the horse market and his story about taking part in the first Working Ranch Cow Horse Camp; Baxter Black's commentary, "The Scars to Prove It," in his regular On the Edge of Common Sense column; and more.

The many articles are collected in regular departments: Ranchlands, Hands-on Horseman, Inside the Arena, and Cowboy Style. Visit www.WesternHorseman.com for more about the current issue and web-only features, including audio pieces by Baxter Black and a slide show of top Western artist Bill Owen's 30 Western Horseman covers, with his commentary.

Posted 1/23


The December 2011/January 2012 Ranch & Reata, the magazine's fifth issue, includes features accompanied by striking photography and art.

Among the highlights in the current issue: illustrated stories about the late, much-admired cowboy singer and songwriter Chris LeDoux (pictured on the cover) by Mark Bedor and by Bruce Pollock; a profile of popular songwriter and musician Corb Lund (accompanied by editor A.J. Mangum's insightful "Editor's Note"); celebrated horseman Buck Brannaman's "Making the Right Things Easy"; Kathy McCraine's profile of young cowboy Joel Maloney, "Making a Hand"; a beautifully illustrated article about Luis Ortega and his legendary rawhide creations; Tom Russell's extensive piece, "Blood on the Saddle; the long Shadow of Tex Ritter"; a profile of notable Western artist Jack Swanson by William Reynolds; a pictorial featuring the bronzes of sculptor John Coleman; a Q&A with author William Kittredge; a pictorial of photographer Will Brewster's "Winter in the West" images; Jameson Parker's feature about Utah saddlemaker Jeff Hanson; articles about rare cowboy books and about interesting web sites; an excerpt from Western writer and photographer Dane Coolidge's (1873-1940) Hidden Water, which is being serialized in the magazine; and much more.

Find some entries about Ranch & Reata at A.J. Mangum's blog and find more information here at www.rangeradio.com, where you can also view on-line versions of the current and past issues.

Posted 1/19


  The Winter, 2011 Persimmon Hill magazine from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum includes Jeri Dobrowski's feature article about cowboy poet, humorist, and celebrated chuckwagon cook Kent Rollins. "Wrasslin' Pans and Pots at the Red River Chuck Wagon Boot Camp" explores the experience of "a taste of life in an Old West cow camp" and profiles Kent Rollins. In the lively article, which includes Jeri Dobrowski's photography, she comments, "Rollins wants folks to get more out of the experience than just learning to cook. He serves up life lessons and turns out friends."

Find more about the Red River Chuck Wagon Boot Camp at www.kentrollins.com and find more about Kent Rollins in our feature here. Jeri Dobrowski's monthly Cowboy Jam Session column appears at CowboyPoetry.com and in other publications. Find more about her and her photography, including a gallery of Western performers and other personalities at www.JeriDobrowski.com. There are images from her experience at the Chuck Wagon Boot Camp here.

Also in the current Persimmon Hill issue: top cowboy singer and songwriter R.W. Hampton is profiled by Edna Mae Holden in "R.W. Hampton—On the Road & at Home"; articles including those about the recent Cowboy Crossings art show and sale by the Cowboy Artists of America and the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, Will James' art, Western actor Ed Harris, and the Calgary Stampede; additional features, articles and commentary; photos from recent museum events; exhibit and event information; and more.

Persimmon Hill is described as "the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's award-winning journal on the West." It is available to museum members and by subscription. Find information here.

[photo of Jeri Dobrowski by Jen Dorbrowski; photo of Kent Rollins by Jeri Dobrowski; see her gallery of western performers and others here.]

Updated 1/18


  A PBS American Experience documentary on Billy the Kid aired nationally on January 10, 2012. The film is a part of the series' Wild West collection, which will also include pieces on Custer's Last Stand and Geronimo.

Music historian, author, and performer Mark L. Gardner performs Andrew "Blind Andy" Jenkins' 1927 ballad, "Billy the Kid," in a related video at the PBS web site here. Mark Gardner, who performs music on instruments appropriate to the period, plays his 1928 Gibson TG-1 tenor guitar in the video.

Mark L. Gardner is the author of the recent book, To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West.

PBS American Experience describes the program:

fascinating look at the myth and the man behind it, who, in just a few short years transformed himself from a skinny orphan boy to the most feared man in the West and an enduring western icon.

Watch the first chapter and find information and additional links for the Billy the Kid program at the PBS American Experience web site. Among the links is a photo gallery of "The Golden Age of the American Cowboy."

(Update, 1/11/11: You can now view the entire feature at the PBS American Experience web site.)

Mark L. Gardner is also the editor of Jack Thorp's Songs of the Cowboys (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2005), a book that is accompanied by a CD recording with performances by Mark L. Gardner and Rex Rideout. Mark L. Gardner's performance of "What's Become of the Punchers" from that CD is included on the first volume of The BAR-D Roundup. See our feature about the Jack Thorp book and CD here.

Gardner and Rideout's popular "Songs of the Cowboys" concert and program on "Jack" Thorp (N. Howard Thorp, 1867-1940) has been recognized as an Official New Mexico Centennial Project.

Find more about Mark L. Gardner and his many other publications at his web site, www.songofthewest.com.

[image from a photo by Steve Butler]

Updated 1/11


  Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum presents selected works of "cowboy artist" Charles M. Russell in an exhibit, Romance Maker: The Watercolors of Charles M. Russell, February 11, 2012–May 13, 2012. From their description:

More than 100 of the finest and best-preserved watercolors by Charles M. Russell (1864–1926) will be featured in this special exhibition. Never before have so many of these singular depictions of the Old West been brought together.

Russell’s advice to a fellow artist to “cinch your saddle on romance” defined his work, where vivid subjects culled from his own youthful experiences were fused with the power of his artistic imagination to create unforgettable images of the mythic American frontier....

The Amon Carter Museum "...was established through the generosity of Amon G. Carter Sr. (1879–1955) to house his collection of paintings and sculpture by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell..."

Find more about the exhibit at the museum's web site here.

Posted 1/4


Additional recent news items continued here... Cowboy Song Tradition; Texas Cowpuncher; A Free and Hardy Life; Cowboy Artists of America;  Western Horseman; BAR-D e-news; Range; Ranch & Reata; Don't Fence Me In; Bill Owen; We Pointed Them North; Dave Stamey's Twelve Mile Road; Waddie Mitchell; and much more...


 

News Bits and Links   

We receive and come across all sorts of interesting information from a wide range of sources. Below, we'll gather some quick links to news stories, web features, and other items of interest gathered from the web, social media, and from you, the most recent posted first.

Your suggestions for consideration of inclusion are welcome (as well as your comments). Email us.


Real Rural Project, "Welcome to the rest of California," with photographs and interviews

"26th annual Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering getting ready," Odessa American, January 31, 2012

"The Great Migration: Texas cattle heading north" by By P.J. Huffstutter and Theopolis Waters, MSNBC, January 30, 2012

Global Jukebox, an independent music label from the Alan Lomax Archive

"Shrinking U.S. cattle herd smallest in 60 years," by K.T. Arasu and Meredith Davis, Reuters, via Drovers Network, January 25, 2012

"Montanan, Crow Tribe member Henry Real Bird named Cowboy Poet of the Year," by Susan Olp, Billings Gazette, via The Missoulian, January 27, 2012

Department of Defense Symbols of America: Cowboy


"Buckaroogirl," by Greg Martin of Line on Agriculture at Aginfo.net (with audio) January 26, 2012

Baxter Black audio on Western Horseman web site

"Lassen County Hijinks," Baxter Black's latest "On the Edge of Common Sense" column, at his web site

"Bovine beautician is all part of the Farm Show," by Mike Argento in the New York Daily Record, January 13, 2012

Old Bucking Horse Museum & Hall of Fame article by Ronald Erdrich, Big Country Journal, January 25, 2012
 
Ag student internships at Big Sandy, Montana ranch

"Alberta bison roam a new home in Montana," The Globe and Mail, January 24, 2012

"The Care Package: Video About Cattle Welfare," Agriculture Proud blog, January 25, 2012

"Cowboy Poetry Concert will benefit new Kanab Outdoor Performing Arts Center," Southern Utah News, January 25, 2012

"Morality and Cake Pans: The Rural Library," by Marcel LaFlamme, The Daily Yonder, January 23, 2012

"To keep 'em coming, dude ranches add mainstream amenities to Old West-style fun," by the Associated Press, via The Washington Post, January 24, 2012

"Government must fund the arts," (mentions the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering), by Christopher Ames, The Baltimore Sun, January 22, 2012

Rodney Nelson and DW Groethe in National Cowboy Poetry Gathering ad, YouTube video

Drought Survey Results, cow-calf producers' responses, Beef Magazine graphic representations, January 12, 2012

"Commentary: Yahoo!, please don’t mess with the goat ropers," Greg Henderson, Drover's Network, January 20, 2012

Hawaii Horseback Riding Ranches & Cowboy History, Equitrekking YouTube video

"National Cowboy Poetry Gathering," by Greg Martin of Line on Agriculture at Aginfo.net (with audio) January 19, 2012

"'Brain Drain': Put a Stopper in Your Mouth" article by Carol Miller, January 18, 2012, Daily Yonder

The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started: A Century of Ranching in Montana, stories of 142 ranch families with frequent featured excerpts, from the Montana Stockgrowers Association


Find many earlier news bits and links here.
 
 


 

Features

(see a complete list of features here)



Picture the West features photos of the ranching, cowboy, rural, and working life of the West of today and yesterday.

We're looking for images that give a glimpse of the ranching, cowboy, and rural and working life of the West of today and yesterday. We welcome vintage and contemporary photos: family photos, images of where you live and work, and the area around you.

See the most recent entry here.

Share your part of the West or the West of your past. Help show a worldwide audience the real West. To send photos, just email us.

Updated 1/30


Rick Huff covers the Western radio scene in his Western Air column. Find the most recent column, about North Dakotan Jarle Kvale and his "Back at the Ranch" program, here.

Western Air is a regular feature of the Western Music Association's quarterly magazine, The Western Way.

Rick Huff reviews Western music and cowboy poetry recordings and other releases of Western interest in his Rick Huff's Best of the West Reviews column. We're pleased to have many hundreds of his selected reviews in our feature
here.

Posted 1/23


  The January, 2012 edition of Jeri Dobrowski's Cowboy Jam Session column is titled "Paper Trail." She reviews Bette Wolf Duncan's book of poems and stories, Dakota Prairie Memories; tells about the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records Automation offerings; and reviews Amy Hale Auker's book of essays, Rightful Place.

Read the January, 2012 edition of Cowboy Jam Session here.

Cowboy Jam Session is also available at the Tri-State Livestock News and in other publications.

The December, 2011 column is titled "Christmas Gift Ideas #2." She reviews Dave Stamey's Twelve Mile Road Western music CD; Gordon W. Frederickson's Farm Country Tales series and If I Were a Farmer series; and Skip Halmes' The Cow Whisperer: Stories from the Big Sky Country of ranchin’, romance and rugrats and Dances with Hooves: More stories from the Big Sky Country of mad cows, mothers and beer.

The November, 2011 column is titled "Christmas Gift Ideas #1." She mentions a cookbook and more from Kent and Shannon Rollins' Red River Ranch Chuckwagon; the film Buck's DVD release; and two calendar selections, Cowgirls of the Old West Calendar: Historic Photographs & Illustrations and Mort Künstler's American Farm Wall Calendar.

The October, 2011 column is titled "Tackling Fall Chores." She reviews recent releases from Daron Little (Ranch Cowboy Music), Rex Rideout (Ladies' Choice) and Almeda Terry Bradshaw (Voices from the Range, Almeda Terry Sings the Poetry of Rhoda Sivell).

Find all Cowboy Jam Session columns posted since its inception in 2005 in our feature here.

Jeri Dobrowski welcomes submissions for consideration. Books, CDs, videos and event announcements should be sent to Jeri L. Dobrowski, Cowboy Jam Session, 1471 Carlyle Road, Beach, ND 58621. You can contact her at 406-795-8168 or by email.

[photo by Jen Dobrowski]

Updated 1/18


 Rick Huff reviews Western music and cowboy poetry recordings and other releases of Western interest in his Rick Huff's Best of the West Reviews column in The Western Way and elsewhere. We're pleased to have his most recent reviews here.

The newest are:

Dave Stamey's Twelve Mile Road
Chuck Cusimano's I Wrote This
Baxter Black's
Rudolph's Night Off
Rusty Richards'
Casey Tibbs— Born to Ride

Brenda Libby's On the Outskirts of Crazy, More or Less
Slim Randles' A Cowboy's Guide to Growing Up Right
The Bar D Wranglers' Tales From The Trail
Paul S. Powers' (edited by Laurie Powers) Riding the Pulp Trail
Barbara Nelson's Crazy Western Swing
"V" the Gypsy Cowbelle's
The Itinerant Lady
Steven Spalding's
Rougher As You Go
The Stardust Cowboys'
How The Cowboys Swung The West
Patty Clayton's
Dancin' in Denver
Judy Coder's
Songcatcher

Fred Hargrove's
Watching Eagles Fly
The Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers'
Breakin' Out

Find all of the most recent reviews here.

Find links to hundreds of Rick Huff's previous reviews here.

Updated 12/14


  Andy Wilkinson's songs, plays, and poems reach deep into the roots of the American West. Whether writing about the historical West, as in his celebrated western opera, Charlie Goodnight; His Life in Poetry and Song, or addressing contemporary issues such as an endangered aquifer in his poem "Mining the Motherlode," his work is vibrant and engaging. ' ' '

A four-time recipient of the Western Heritage "Wrangler" Award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, he has several recent CD collaborations with Andy Hedges, and they have a forthcoming release, Outlands.

Charlie Goodnight; His Life in Poetry and Song, will be performed at the 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (January 30-February 4) and will include performances by Jerry Brooks, R.W. Hampton, Rod Taylor, Don Richmond, Andy Wilkinson, Andy Hedges, Emily Arellano, Alissa Hedges, Scot Wilburn, Rick Bryceson, Waddie Mitchell, Michael Martin Murphey and Barry Corbin.

At Texas Tech University Press, ' ' ' Andy Wilkinson is the ' ' ' Voice in the American West ' ' ' Series Editor. ' ' ' The series includes Amy Auker's Rightful Place and Jim Hoy's Cowboy’s Lament; A Life on the Open Range, Frank Maynard.

' ' '

We're honored to have a new feature about Andy Wilkinson and three of his works: The Poet's Catch-Rope (about Buck Ramsey); Saddlin' Up Time (from Charlie Goodnight), and Mining the Motherlode.

Read more in our feature here, which includes links for Andy Wilkinson's music and more.

Posted 12/7


Johnie Schneider (1904-1982) was the first official World Champion Bull Rider and the author of a memorable poem, The Black Beauty, which was written in the early 1920s.

Cowgirl, poet, and writer Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns writes about his life in an extended feature here, for which she also also provides photographs, courtesy of the Schneider family. She tells that the chapter-length piece is a part of the forthcoming book, Bound for Glory—The Bull Riders, which will be published by Loft Enterprises (www.loftent.com) in conjunction with a future subscription website on "Horses...Heroes...& History."

An entry on the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame web site tells that Johnie Schneider "... had a soul of a poet and the heart of a cowboy. He began rodeoing in 1923 and quickly established a reputation as one of the most versatile performers around." Johnie Schneider is quoted, "The best thing about rodeo was that it gave a lot of us a start in life. There weren’t many options back then for a fellow trying to make it."

Cowboy, poet, and reciter Jesse Smith is probably most responsible for the poem, "The Black Beauty," being known to audiences today. He first recorded the poem on his cassette, The Holstein Steer. Jesse Smith made a new recording of "The Black Beauty" for The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Four.

Find the feature about Johnie Schneider here.

Posted 11/28


  We're pleased to feature the work of Henry Real Bird, past Montana Poet Laureate (2009-2011), rancher, author, artist, storyteller, educator and Crow elder, with thanks to Lost Horse Press for their help with the feature.

Henry Real Bird's 2010 poetry collection, Horse Tracks (Lost Horse Press), received Montana's 2011 High Plains Book Award. Four poems from that book are included in our feature: A Cottonwood Leaf, Thought, Night and Day, and Flowers.

In July, 2010, while he was Montana Poet Laureate, he made a 500-mile ride across Montana, giving out books of poetry. A National Public Radio broadcast, "Across Montana on Horseback, Poet Hands Out Poetry" covered the journey.

He is a frequent performer at the Western Folklife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and a transcript of his 2010 keynote speech, "Many Ghosts in Mind," is available from the Western Folklife Center.

Find more about Henry Real Bird in our feature here.

[photo by Jeri Dobrowski; see her gallery of western performers and others here.]

Posted 11/14


Additional recent features continued here...


BAR-D News

 

The BAR-D supporters make all of the programs of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry possible: Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library Project, and CowboyPoetry.com.

Great thanks to all of those who have contributed to the Center, and to the current supporters listed below (November 2010-January 2012):

Kevin D. Adams ~ Lia Adams ~ Tamara Adams—Emandal ~ David Althouse ~ Anonymous donors ~ Tony Argento ~ Robert C. Atkin ~ Denise Arvidson ~ Susan Barron ~ Wendy Brown-Barry ~  Backforty Bunkhouse ~ Sally Baldus ~ Norma Battenfield ~ C.W. (Charles) Bell ~ Cindy Lou and Baxter Black—Coyote Cowboy Company ~ Booth Western Art Museum ~ George Borbeau ~ Kathy Brittain ~ Jerry A. Brooks ~ Marci Broyhill ~ James W. Buffham ~  Jack Burdette ~ Bruce Burgan ~ Marleen Bussma ~ Daniel Bybee ~ Shawn Cameron ~ Hal Cannon ~ Jim Cardwell ~  Nona Kelley Carver ~ Jim and Stella Cathey ~ Jodi Caudell ~ Byrl Keith Chadwell ~ Barbara and Richard Ciesielski ~ Patty Clayton ~ Clear Out West (C.O.W.) Radio ~ Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering ~ Bob Coker ~ Jesse Colt ~ Steve and Marge Conroy ~ Bob Coker ~ Ken and Nancy Cook ~ Tony Corbelletta ~ Cowboy Poets of Idaho, Inc. ~ Philip L. Crawford ~ Van Criddle ~ Doris Daley ~ Teddie Daley ~ Stephanie Davis-Recluse Records ~ Jon Dean ~ Sam DeLeeuw ~ Robert Dennis ~ Thomas Dickens ~ Louise Dillard ~ Jeri Dobrowski ~ Donna Dodds ~ Ray Doyle ~ Bette Wolf Duncan ~ Mike Dunn ~ Sherrod and Sue Fielden ~ Juni Fisher ~ Robert D. Furrow ~ Google (Matching Gift) ~ Francie Ganje—Heritage of the American West ~ Janice Gilbertson ~ Kathy Graves ~ DW Groethe ~ Del Gustafson ~ Heather Hafleigh ~ Linda M. Hasselstrom ~ Jean Haugen ~ Michael Havens ~ Thomas F. Hawk ~  Jennifer S. Hayes ~ Robin Hayes ~ Michael Henley ~ Dorothy Hepner ~ M. Todd Hess ~ Don Hilmer ~ Michael Hogan ~ Yvonne Hollenbeck ~ Stuart Hooker ~ Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band ~ Stan Howe ~ Bobbie Hunter ~ Keven Inman ~ Chris Isaacs ~ Judy James ~ Nora Jennings ~ Kathy Jerman ~ Carol Johnson ~ Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot") ~ Joyce Johnson ~ LaVerna B. Johnson ~  Lewis Kearney ~  Harold Keith ~ Leslie Keltner—Runumuk Cowgirl Productions ~ Spencer Keralis ~ Kathryn Kern ~ Bob Kinsey ~ Linda Kirkpatrick ~ Jo Lynne Kirkwood ~ Susie Knight ~ Colleen Kohler ~ Lynn Kopelke ~ Jarle Kvale ~ Laughing Sun Photography ~ Raymond Layland ~ Patti Leininger ~ Donna Lifland ~ Live! with Jim Thompson ~ Jon Lorensen ~ Deanna McCall ~ Will McDaniel ~ Monte R. McDonald ~ Ron McDonald ~ Gary McMahan ~ Slim McNaught ~ Kristin Madden ~ Pamela Malnar ~ Peggy Malone ~ Bob and Marie MannBig Hat Promotions House Concerts ~ Sam Matisse ~ Al Mehl ~ Rod Miller ~ Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival ~ Tom Moorman ~ Tom and Fran Morgan ~ Tom Morgan Art ~ Jane and Dick Morton ~ Mike Moutoux ~ Terry Nash ~ National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo ~ Andy Nelson ~ Carla Nelson ~ Rodney Nelson ~ Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue (Bruce and Susan Matley) ~ Tom Nichols ~  Jim and Julie Nowell ~ Kay Kelley Nowell ~ Verna Owens ~ Dale Page ~ Shelly Pagliai—Prairie Moon Quilts ~ Susan Parker ~ John Pelham ~ Trisha Pedroia ~ Frank Pinney ~ Verlin Pitt ~ Jean Prescott ~ Cindy Quigley ~ John Reedy ~ Wilma Rich ~ Pat Richardson ~ Rober Ringer ~ Betty and Ken Rodgers ~ Roberta Rothman ~ Saddle Up! At Pigeon Forge ~ Sandy Seaton Sallee ~ Harvey Sampson ~ Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival ~ Michael Schilbach ~ Bob Schild ~ Jerry Schleicher ~ Scofield's Cowboy Campfire ~ Marsha Short ~ Paula Sisk ~ Donald Smith ~ Willie P. Smith ~ Sandi and Jay Snider ~ Kip Sorlie ~ Rhonda and Will Stearns ~  Irene Stringfield ~ Patricia Sublette ~ Hal Swift ~ Paulette and Michael Tcherkassky ~ Eugene and Sue Thomas ~ Karen Thomas ~ Jim Thompson (California) ~ Jim Thompson (South Dakota) ~ Stan Tixier ~ Diane Tribit—CowboyLegacy.org ~ Ted D. Valentiner ~ Smoke Wade ~ Keith Ward ~ Dick Warwick ~ John Waters ~ Joe Wells ~ Rose Wenstrom ~ John West ~ Western Folklife Center ~ Western Music Association ~ Michael Whitaker ~ John Willard ~ Patricia Willestoft ~ Randy Williams ~ C.R. Wood ~ Laurie Wood ~ Paul Zarzyski

Some of these donations were made in memory of and in honor of others.

See the complete Wall of Support here.

Please join the generous supporters listed above. Your support is essential. If you visit often, find news, information, or entertainment, or if we've featured your poetry, CD, book, news, or gathering...please show your support.

CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry exist only through the tax-deductible donations of those who support our work. Please be one of those generous donors. We've received donations of $10 and $1000: All are equally valued.


Cowboy Poetry Week posters are offered to libraries in our Rural Library Project and to supporters of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, which sponsors CowboyPoetry.com, Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library project, and all of our programs. Posters are not for sale. Those making new or renewal donations to the Center at the $40 or higher level receive the 2011 Cowboy Poetry Week poster by Duward Campbell and The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six or, the 2012 poster and CD, available in April, 2012.


The BAR-D Roundup is offered to libraries, supporters, and is available for purchase. All proceeds help fund the Center’s programs, including Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library Project, and CowboyPoetry.com. Those making new or renewal donations to the Center at the $40 or higher level receive the The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six and the 2011 Cowboy Poetry Week poster or, the 2012 poster and CD, available in April, 2012.

Read about levels of support, including Sponsor banners, here.

You can make a new donation or renew your support 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 deductible for federal income tax purposes.

As in all serious journalistic endeavors, no editorial preference is given to financial sponsors or supporters.


' Thanks to Nevada poet and writer Hal Swift, who tallies the number of poets and songwriters and poems and lyrics at CowboyPoetry.com each year. Hal found over 1100 poets/songwriters (1,137) and over 6,200 poems/lyrics (6,254) on December 31, 2011.

Find the index for all here.

Posted 1/5
 


    Visit the Center/CowboyPoetry.com Facebook page and "Like" us. News and more is posted there regularly.

If you're on Facebook, you can "Share" the page on your own Facebook page by clicking on "Share" at the bottom left of the page. The "Like" button is at the top of the page. Even if you're not a part of Facebook, you can view the page here.

You can follow us on Twitter, too, where there are also regular postings, shared links, and news that may not get posted on CowboyPoetry.com. Even if you don't have a Twitter account, you can check out our tweets. Find the page here.
 


Each year, thanks to individuals and gathering organizers, many thousands of CowboyPoetry.com information cards are distributed at gatherings and events. Two 2011 information cards are available:

One is the image selected as the cover for the 2011 CD, The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six. It depicts legendary fiddler and cowboy Frankie McWhorter (1931-2008) and his dog, Hank. Frankie McWhorter was the father of cowboy and poet Larry McWhorter (1957-2003) and grandfather of reciter Abi McWhorter. The photograph was taken in about 1986 by Kris Erickson ( www.hankthecowdog.com):

Another features Duward Campbell's painting, "Pilgrim," chosen as the image for the 2011 Cowboy Poetry Week poster. "Pilgrim" is a painting of cowboy and poet J.B. Allen (1938-2005) and his horse, Pilgrim. The painting is also the cover of J.B. Allen's book, the circle:

The reverse sides of the postcards have information about the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry and CowboyPoetry.com. Find larger views, the reverse-side text, and previous years' cards here.

See a list here of gatherings, organizations, and individuals who are helping to spread the word by making CowboyPoetry.com information cards available.

Help spread the word! Email us us for a supply of handout postcards about CowboyPoetry.com for your event.


Find more BAR-D News here.


Western and Cowboy Poems and Songs: New, Old, and Classic

Our focus is on stories about the life of rural communities and today's real working West. We look for poems and lyrics that say something original about cowboying, ranching, or rural life. Find submission guidelines here.

Poets and songwriters: Don't miss the items here, some of which include requests for performers and for submissions for various events, publications, radio shows, and web sites...



Each week, we start this section with classic cowboy poetry or a Western song (sometimes from our archives) and a contemporary poem or song from our archives...


 

Week of January 30:

  The traditional Zebra Dun has been recited and sung across three centuries:

We were camped on the plains at the head of the Cimarron
When along came a stranger and stopped to arger some.
He looked so very very foolish that we began to look around,
We thought he was a greenhorn that had just 'scaped from town.
....

Cowboy song and poetry collector "Jack" Thorp (N. Howard Thorp, 1867-1940) notes that he first heard it sung "by Randolph Reynolds, Carizozo Flats, in 1890," (now Carrizozo, New Mexico).

Cowboy and singer Jules Verne Allen (1883-1945) recorded "Zebra Dun" in 1928, the first known commercial recording. Listen to it here. A biography here at CMT.com tells that he was, "A cowboy from the age of ten, and a participant in cattle drives until the end of the first decade of the new century, Allen began singing as an amateur for the pleasure of his fellow cowboys."

One of the most recent recordings is a recitation by Clarence Carnal, made just before his 102nd birthday in 2011. He will appear at the Western Folklife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering later this week. Find his rendition on a YouTube video here.

Clarence Carnal will be in at least two sessions at the gathering: one with Waddie Mitchell, Randy Rieman, and Gail Steiger, hosted by Ken Cook; and one with Jerry Brooks and Randy Rieman, hosted by Andrea Graham. Clarence Carnal is a regular, popular participant at Colorado's Grand Junction Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

Many others have recorded "Zebra Dun," and Don Edwards has an outstanding version on his
Saddle Songs album.

Find the version of "Zebra Dun" collected by Jack Thorp here at CowboyPoetry.com.

Posted 1/30


A contemporary poem from the archive...

  Another venerable gathering, the 20th Annual Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering, takes place this coming weekend in Sierra Vista, Arizona (February 3-5). Popular poet, songwriter, author, teacher, and artist Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot") returns to their stage. One of her poems that always pleases audiences is Tomboy:

....
Skinny tomboy, seven brothers,
     and assorted brothers' friends
On our little cattle ponies,
     raced to hell and back again.
We'd roar down the dry arroyas;
     then we'd all come tearing back,
There was Buzz and Paul and Donnie
     and that rascal Charlie Black
....

"Tomboy" is included in her book Cowman's Wife and it's also on The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five.

Buckshot Dot has a number of recordings and books, including two new offerings: Along the Arizona Trail, Songs and Poems of Arizona and The Mystery of Little Nepo; an Arizona Story. Both were inspired in part by the celebration of this year's Arizona state centennial. 

Find more of Buckshot Dot's poetry and more about her here at CowboyPoetry.com and at her web site, www.BuckshotDot.com.

Posted 1/30


Special thanks to our supporters and Sponsors for their commitment to our shared mission to promote and preserve cowboy poetry and the life and arts of the West. They keep CowboyPoetry.com available every day of the year and make Cowboy Poetry Week and the Rural Library Project possible.