|
 There's
a new
newsletter
at the
British Columbia Cowboy
Heritage Society (BCCHS)
site, home of the popular Kamloops Cowboy Festival.
The newsletter includes reports and photos from the
2012 festival and a preview of next year's performers, events, reviews, and
other news.
Of particular note is an announcement of the
Mike Puhallo Student Scholarship,
which will be available to U.S. and Canadian poets. Cowboy and poet
Mike Puhallo
(1953-2011) —much
missed—was
the long-time president of the BCCHS, and an active part of CowboyPoetry.com.
See our feature about him, including many of his poems, here.
Read the BCCHS newsletter
here.
Posted 5/21
Writer and poet
Jane Morton's
poem, "Finding Gold," received first prize in the 2012 Creede, Colorado
Willow Creek Journal
competition.
The
Willow Creek Journal
is an annual Colorado publication, "containing writing and
artwork by residents and visitors to Creede, Mineral County, and the San Luis
Valley." Find more about it
here.
Jane Morton also has a haiku and short story in the 2012 journal. She tells
that the short story is, "..a true story about my great grandfather who
freighted supplies to the mines and ran into the James Gang. He didn't know who
they were, but offered them dinner around his campfire. That night his best
mules, which were picketed outside the camp, were stolen, and the leader of the
gang sent a couple of his men out to track them...."
Jane Morton has two award-winning books of poetry,
In This Land of Little Rain
and
Turning to Face the Wind,
and a recording,
Turning to Face the Wind.
Her recitations are included on
The BAR-D Roundup
("Yoo-hoo"
on Volume One;
"The Cows Came First" on Volume
Four; and "Ground
Tied" on
Volume Six;
Find some of her poetry and more about her in our feature
here.
Posted 5/16
North Dakota rancher, poet, writer, and Senior Pro
Rodeo champion
Rodney Nelson's
regular
Up Sims Creek
column appears bi-weekly in the
Country Living section of
Farm & Ranch Guide.
The current column is titled "The
different forms of communication through the years."
Find links to previous columns
here at the
Farm & Ranch Guide site.
Rodney is a popular performer at many events, frequently invited to the Western
Folklife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other gatherings and
events across the West.
His poem, "Old Bronc Rider's Prayer," is featured on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Seven; "Gift Rift," is featured on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six; "Good Clean Fun," is
featured on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five, and his "Cowboy
Laundry" is one of the most-played radio tracks, included on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Four. He has written
several chapbooks, has a collection of his
Up Sims Creek columns, and a Christmas tale,
Wilbur's Gift.
Read some of his poetry and more about him in our feature
here.
[photo by Jeri L. Dobrowski; see her gallery of western
performers and others
here]
Posted 5 /16
Poet
Troy McNaught Westby,
96, is featured in the Summer, 2012 issue of
Range
Magazine.
South Dakota ranch wife and top poet
Yvonne Hollenbeck
wrote the article that appears in the magazine's popular "Confessions of Red Meat Survivors" feature.
The article covers Troy McNaught Westby's
early life and her days as a teacher in a one-room school. The article tells,
"That one-room country school was eight miles northwest of the ranch and Troy
rode horseback to it on Monday morning and back home on Friday evening..." The
colorful article includes a skunk tale, comments on log-house living ("I spent
a lot of time mixing mud from the buffalo wallows and chinking the openings
between the logs...") and more about Troy's life and her writing.
See our feature about Troy McNaught Westby
here. Much of it was written by her son, popular
poet and leather artist Slim McNaught, and it
includes some of her poetry.
(Yvonne Hollenbeck recently wrote another "Confession of Red Meat Survivors"
piece about her mother-in-law Dema McMurtry Hollenbeck's life in the Fall, 2011
issue of
Range.)
Find many new and archived stories at
www.rangemagazine.com.
Posted 5/14
Nebraska "Prairie Poet" and storyteller
Marci Broyhill
(www.marcibroyhill.com) is an
actress as well. She is currently appearing with Iowa's
Sioux City
Community Theatre
in a production of Robert Harling's
Steel Magnolias.
She plays the part of Clairee Belcher in the show that runs through May 20,
2012.
Find a
Sioux City Journal
article
here about the play.
In April, Marci Broyhill received a
Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation in person from Nebraska
Governor Dave Heineman. See a photo here.
Find more about Marci Broyhill at
www.marcibroyhill.com, where there are sample tracks from her recent CD,
Window of Memories.
Posted 5/14
In 2011,
Santa Cruz Guitar Company
created the "Don
Edwards 50th Anniversary Cowboy Singer Model" guitar.
Now they also have a Don Edwards' "Cowboy
Singer Bandana." It is described,
"We are proud to now be carrying the official Don Edwards ‘Cowboy Singer’
bandana. This sturdy cotton hanky pays homage to the Gene Autry and Roy Rogers
bandanas of the past, but with photos of Don Edwards, his Cowboy Singer guitar,
his signature and his ‘Singing Hills’ ranch, along with other classic cowboy
designs. Looks great on humans, dogs, horses and guitars."
You can see it
here, modeled by Don Edwards and
also by Smoky, Don Edwards' travel pal.
Santa Cruz Guitar
commented on the Don Edwards 50th Anniversary Cowboy Singer Model
guitar:
If we don't continue to tell the
stories of the past, they will no longer be remembered. Don
Edwards understands this, and has devoted his life to keeping the
lyrics and lore the old west alive and well in the mind and hearts
of America. 2011 marks the 50th anniversary in the music business
for this most beloved cowboy poet and balladeer, and in honor of
this career milestone, Santa Cruz Guitar Company is thrilled to
debut the Don Edwards Signature Model Guitar....
Read more
here at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company site, where there are
also specifications and photos.
Celebrating its 36th anniversary in
2012, the Santa Cruz Guitar Company has made guitars for music
luminaries including Steve Earle, John Denver, Joey Miskulin, Joan
Baez, Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, Dave Matthews, Gillian Welch, Elvis
Costello and many others (find a list
here).
See Santa Cruz Guitar Company's poster
here (also available) in our
feature about
Don Edwards and visit his web site,
www.donedwardsmusic.com.
Posted 5/11
 Texas poet, reciter, writer, and local historian
Linda Kirkpatrick's
most recent
Somewhere in the West
column at the
Leakey Star
(Texas) is
part five
of
"'Who
Do You Think You Are?': John Leakey."
She comments about the family who founded her hometown,
"John Leakey, the grandfather, and John Leakey, the grandson, are a couple of
interesting characters who walk the pages of history all the way from South
Texas to way north, North Dakota. Their lives are exciting and sometimes
downright unbelievable. I hope that I can do these two men justice."
Read the latest article
here.
Find links to other articles from her
Somewhere in the West
series
here
at the
Leakey Star.
She is working on a book that will collect some of her articles.
Linda Kirkpatrick recites Berta Harte Nance's classic poem,
"Cattle," on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six and appears on
other volumes of
The BAR-D Roundup. She has recorded the Center for Western and
Cowboy Poetry Public Service Announcement for the forthcoming volume,
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Seven.
Find more about Linda Kirkpatrick in our feature
here.
[photo by Jeri L. Dobrowski; see
her gallery of western performers and others
here.]
Posted 5/11
Missouri
poet, writer and country humorist
Jerry Schleicher
writes about "Chicken
Predators in the Sky" in the May/June, 2012 issue of
GRIT
magazine.
GRIT, first
published in 1882,
is "a bi-monthly magazine distributed throughout the
United States and Canada that celebrates country
lifestyles of all kinds, while emphasizing the importance
of community and stewardship."
See the article
here
at the
GRIT
site.
Jerry is a regular contributor to other magazines, including
Cappers and
Farm Collector,
even as he is faced with serious health challenges. See a news item
here about Jerry's health.
Read about Jerry Schleicher and find some of his poetry
here at the BAR-D.
Posted 5/11
Top
Alberta poet
Doris Daley
is featured in a May 7, 2012 article by Sheena Read, "Teaching
the cowboy way,"
in the
Nanton News.
Doris Daley
is quoted, commenting "that cowboy poetry is about 'real people
telling their stories in the 21st century. It gives rural people
a platform to tell rural stories.'” Read the article
here.
The recipient of multiple awards and recognitions for her poetry, Doris Daley
performs at events across the West. In 2012 she has made return
appearances to the
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the
Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
She
has a recent book,
West Word Ho!
and her most recent CD is
Beneath a Western Sky.
Her work is included on each volume of
The BAR-D Roundup.
See a recent YouTube video about Doris Daley and her poetry
here.
Find more about Doris Daley and some of her poetry in our feature
here and visit
www.DorisDaley.com.
[photo by
Walter Workman]
Posted 5/8
Popular cowboy singer
Pop Wagner
(popwagner.com) "a singer, picker,
fiddler, lasso twirler, poet and downright funny guy" was featured on
Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home
Companion,
which aired May 5, 2012. You can listen to the show, view videos, and more
here.
Pop Wagner appeared with Charlie Maguire and Tony Glover. The three recently
released
Woody Reflected,
an album in tribute to Woody Guthrie. Find more about it
here
at Pop Wagner's web site.
Pop Wagner is an Outreach Coordinator for the
Colorado Cowboy Poetry
Gathering; read more about that
here at his web site.
Posted 5/8
Ken Rodgers
and
Betty K. Rodgers' film,
Bravo! Common Men, Uncommon Valor,
has been invited to be screened at
the
Vietnam Veterans of America
annual leadership conference in Dallas, Texas, on August 9, 2012.
The documentary includes the first-hand stories of veterans of the 77-day
Siege of Khe Sanh, Vietnam, men of the Bravo Company—First Battalion, 26th
Marine Regiment.
The filmmakers comment:
While we are in Texas, we
are contemplating screenings at other venues. If you live in Texas and are
interested in seeing Bravo! in your town, we would love to talk to you about
the possibility.
Furthermore, after our trip to Texas, we anticipate motoring east to the
annual Khe Sanh Veterans Reunion in Washington, DC. We plan to go through
Arkansas, on to Shiloh, Chickamauga, Look Out Mountain, Knoxville and into
DC. If you live in one of those vicinities and would like us to screen Bravo!
at the VFW, the American Legion Hall, a VVA meeting or the local Marine Corps
League, give us a shout today. You can either
email us or call (208)
340-8889.
Read about the recently-completely film
here at the
film's web site and on
Facebook.
Betty K. Rodgers is a photographer, editor, and publisher and she also produces
the Idaho
Writers Update. Her photograph, "After the Gathering, was recently featured
as an Art Spur subject. See our feature about
Betty Rodgers here.
Ken Rodgers is also a teacher, poet, and writer. Find some of his poetry
here at CowboyPoetry.com and a new
review of his recent book,
Passenger Pigeons.
Visit Ken Rodgers' web site for his
engaging blog and more.
[photo by Chuck Dennis]
Posted 5/8
The cover of
rancher and Wyoming Poet Laureate
Patricia Frolander's Wrangler-award winning book,
Married Into It,
has received
The
Da Vinci Eye Award from the Eric Hoffer Foundation.
The cover art is by
Wyoming artist
Sarah Rogers
(sarahrogersart.com).
The book is published by
High Plains Press.
Find more about Patricia Frolander and some of her poetry in our feature
here.
Posted 5/8
Arizona rancher, poet, and writer
Jim Olson
is profiled in a May 6, 2012 article, "Writer
focuses on unsung cowboy heroes,"
by Logan Salmons in the
Casa Grande Dispatch.
The article tells about his writing background
and his recent book,
Cowboy Heroes of the Southwest.
Jim Olson has two blogs, newsletters, and is involved in a number of
activities, and you find more about him here at
CowboyPoetry.com and at his web site,
www.jimolsonauthor.com.
Posted 5/8
Wyoming poet and writer
Jean Mathisen Haugen's
poem, "Fiddlin' Around" received an Honorable Mention in the
WyoPoets
Members-Only Contest.
The poem was also published in the April, 2012 issue of the
Wyoming Rural Electric
News.
Jean tells, "The
poem is basically about the old time dances they had around here years ago that
my Grandpa Hornecker played the fiddle at and my Grandma Hornecker played the
piano, while my Uncle Tex played fiddle or guitar."
Jean has contributed a number of interesting photos to Picture the West. Find
links here along with more about her and some of her poetry.
Posted 5/4
Missouri
poet, writer and country humorist
Jerry Schleicher
writes about the National Cornhusking Contest in the May, 2012 issue of
Farm Collector
magazine, in an article, "National
Cornhusking Contest Keeps Traditions Alive."
Jerry tells, "The
event, which drew more than 120 competitors from 12 states, along with hundreds
of spectators, first began in 1924."
Farm Collector
"is a monthly magazine focusing on antique tractors and all kinds of antique
farm equipment. From windmills to cream separators, hog oilers to horse-drawn
equipment, implements to engines to farm toys..."
See the article
here
at the
Farm Collector
site.
Jerry is a regular contributor to other magazines, including
Grit
and
Cappers.
Read about Jerry Schleicher and find some of his poetry
here at the BAR-D.
Posted 5/4
Charley Engel,
host of
Calling All Cowboys
radio, reviews several new releases in the June/July
2012
American Cowboy
magazine:
Jon Chandler's
The Gang
("The spirit that inhabits the magnificence of Wyoming
shines in these songs.");
Andy Wilkinson
and
Andy Hedges'
The Outlands
("...their strongest collaboration yet...");
Mary Kaye's
No Wilder Place
("...powerful, honey-dipped Southern vocals..."); and
Gary S. Pratt's
Lomax
("...excellent...").
See our feature about
Calling All Cowboys
here.
Posted 5/2
Top cowboy poet
Waddie Mitchell
offers "Cowboy
Philosophy 101"
at Nebraska's McCook
Community College on June 8, 2012.
From a May 1, 2012
article in the
McCook Daily
Gazette:
This workshop will include a laid back conversation with one of the country's
best known cattlemen, punctuated with humor, and built on horse sense.
Mitchell is one of the organizers of the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering and has
appeared on Good Morning America, TNN, The History Channel, PBS, and BBC, as
well as being featured in People, Life, New York Times, USA Today, Fortune,
National Geographic, Wall Street Journal along with numerous other
appearances, performances, articles and books.
Waddie Mitchell recites "Cowboy Count Yer Blessings" with
Larry McWhorter on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Six
and his "No Second Chance" is on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five.
See our feature about Waddie Mitchell here and visit
www.WaddieMitchell.com.
[photo by Donald Kallaus]
P osted
5/2
Utah poet
Jo Lynne Kirkwood
has received the
Cowboy Poets of
Utah Pioneer Heritage
Award.
From the Cowboy Poets of Utah:
In Spanish Fork, Utah, on April 21st, as
a culmination of Cowboy Poetry Week, Cowboy Poets of
Utah President Jeff Coates presented the CPU Pioneer Heritage Award to Jo
Lynne Kirkwood. Jo Lynne has been a tireless member of the CPU since its
inception in 2000 through both her working support and her writing, which has
earned her many awards and honors including Top Female Poet by the Academy of
Western Artists in 2009.
Find more about the Cowboy Poets of Utah
at their web site and on their
Facebook page.
Jo Lynne Kirkwood's "A Cowboy Season" is
featured on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Two
and "Ida's Bread" is on
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Four.
See some of Jo Lynne Kirkwood's poetry and more about her in our feature
here and visit her
web site.
Posted 5/2
Top Western artist
Tim Cox
is featured in the May/June 2012 issue of
ART of the West
magazine. The article by Sara Gilbert Frederick tells about Tim Cox' work,
life, and his new studio, the first he's had as a professional artist. She
writes, "Cox had wrapped himself in a sleeping bag, put on a ski mask, and
painted in an unheated cabin..."
ART of the WEST
describes the magazine, "Art of the West
covers landscape and seascapes, Native American art, mountain
men art, and 'cowboy' art, from the old wild west days to the working cowboy of
today." Find features and information at the
magazine's web site.
Tim Cox is the President of the
Cowboy Artists of America.
His painting, "At His Own Pace,", was selected as the 2007
Cowboy Poetry Week poster and was an Art Spur
subject.
Find more about Tim Cox in our feature here and at his
site, www.TimCox.com.
Posted 4/27
Find earlier news
here.
|
Poets, Musicians and Others with News in Print, on the Web, and Beyond
