This page lists
the 2011 activities of friends of cowboy poetry: poets, performers, radio disk jockeys, and
others. Read about those
below,
with the newest posts here.
See the
description of Cowboy Poetry
Week and more on
Page 1.
Poets and friends of
cowboy poetry:
Get your schools,
libraries, and community involved! Perform your poetry, donate a
book, share your knowledge. Read about ways to get involved
below.
Write to your states'
Representatives and Senators, and to your states' Art Council. Let them
know about Cowboy Poetry Week and send a short poem. See more about that
below.
Publications, email us for high resolution
print reproduction information.
We're honored to have the work of
noted Texas artist
Duward Campbell
and his
painting, "Pilgrim,"
featured
as the tenth annual
Cowboy Poetry Week poster.
"Pilgrim" depicts cowboy and poet J.B. Allen
(1938-2005) and his horse, Pilgrim. Read more about the art and artist here.
Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue
(www.nevadaslim.com)
are enthusiastic and tireless participants in Cowboy Poetry Week activities.
They organize events and have engaged their
Columbia Chapter of the Western Music Association
in the celebration. Other Columbia Chapter members Lynn Kopelke
and Ned Bodie
are also planners and advisors.
We'll be posting information about
their activities as it is received.
Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue have have already held a pre-Cowboy Poetry
Week event at their library in Prescott, Washington, with a "What
is Cowboy Poetry" theme.
More to come...
Posted 2/17
Francie Ganje,
broadcaster and producer and host of the Heritage of
the American West Performance Series in
Spearfish, South Dakota, is a prime mover in
Cowboy Poetry Week activities in her region. She was the first person,
in 2006, to obtain her governor's proclamation. She also obtained a
proclamation from the Spearfish mayor, and has done so each year.
She is pursuing a Cowboy Poetry Week
proclamation from South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard
and from Spearfish Mayor Jerry Krambeck.
Francie Ganje has organized library
programs and in addition to her special Cowboy Poetry Week show,
and does much to promote Cowboy Poetry Week on the radio and in the area
communities, including Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota.
This year's Cowboy
Poetry Week show, "Cowboy Culture," will feature popular poet, writer,
emcee, humorist, and radio host Andy Nelson,
Thursday, April 21 at the
High Plains Western
Heritage Center in Spearfish. She writes, "Also featured will be the
legendary
Croft Saddlery in preshow exhibits and programs, including a Riata
Roundup."
Stan Tixier
is another hard-working
organizer of Cowboy
Poetry Week
events at area libraries each year. Each year he has added scope and widened
participation.
Washington
state's Lynn Kopelke,
on behalf of the
Columbia Chapter of the Western Music Association,
has received a proclamation fromWashington Governor Christine Gregoire,
proclaiming
Cowboy
Poetry Week in Washington.
The Governor's proclamation states, in part, "Washington hosts major cowboy
gatherings in Asotin, Colfax, Ellensburg, Kennewick, Pullman, and other
locations throughout the state....I urge all citizens to join me in this
special observance."
Traditional cowboy and western music,
cowboy poetry and tall tales are all on the agenda for the
13th annual Missouri Cowboy Poetry Festival,
scheduled April 15 - 16, 2011, at the Mountain View Community Center in
Mountain View, Missouri. The event will be held in conjunction with
Cowboy Poetry Week,
which celebrates this American folk art nationally.
One of the Midwest's largest gatherings of cowboy musicians and recording
artists, cowboy poets, storytellers, humorists, chuckwagon cooks and rope
spinners, the event attracts performers from across Missouri, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. The 2011 festival kicks off Friday
afternoon, April 15, with a special performance for Mountain View
Elementary students. At 5:00 that evening, guests are invited to attend a
'Supper with the Cowboys' dinner and show at the Mountain View Community
Center. The evening's performers will include the winners of the Mountain
View Elementary 5th grade cowboy poetry competition. Dinner/show tickets
will be sold at the door for $12 per person, or show tickets only for $6.
On Saturday morning, poets and musicians will perform for residents at the
Mountain View Health Care Center. That afternoon, new and returning poets
and musicians will perform in "round robin" fashion at the Community
Center. The show is free to the public, and new poets are encouraged to
sign up for an open mic spot.
At 6:30 that evening, all performers will present a "Grand Finale" cowboy
music and poetry show at the Community Center. Tickets will be available
at the door for $6 per person. The festival concludes Sunday morning with
Cowboy Church at the Community Center
Mountain View is located in south-central Missouri, about 100 miles east
of Springfield. The Missouri Cowboy Poetry Festival is organized by Jennie
Cummings and Eulalia Polk of the Mountain View Arts Council. Financial
support is provided by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council, and
contributions from area businesses and individuals.
Montana poet, songwriter, and ranch
hand
DW
Groethe has requested a letter of recognition for
Cowboy Poetry
Week from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
[photo by
Jeri L.
Dobrowski; see her gallery of western performers and others
here.]
Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue
(www.nevadaslim.com)
are enthusiastic and tireless participants in Cowboy Poetry Week activities.
They organize events and have engaged their
Columbia Chapter of the Western Music Association
in the celebration. Other Columbia Chapter members
Lynn Kopelke
and Ned Bodie
are also planners and advisors.
South Dakota poet Slim McNaught
(pictured) is working with
Francie Ganje,
broadcaster and producer and host of the Heritage of
the American West Performance Series in
Spearfish, South Dakota, to coordinate
proclamations from their five-state area's governors and some local
officials. In 2010, the
area proclamations were displayed at the special Cowboy Poetry Week
Heritage of the American West show.
Popular poet, emcee, and radio host
Andy Nelson
is featured at the April, 2011,
Cowboy Poetry Week Heritage of the American West show.
[photo
of Slim McNaught by Jen Dobrowski; proclamation photos courtesty of
Francie Ganje.]
Posted 3/7
Poet and writer
Hal
Swifthas
received recognition for
Cowboy
Poetry Week from Nevada GovernorBrian Sandoval.
Al
Gustin, known widely throughout
the region as the "dean" of farm broadcasting, celebrates
Cowboy Poetry
Week on his shows on KBMR and
KFYR, which
are heard throughout the day.
He writes, "Again
this year, I will be observing Cowboy Poetry Week by featuring some regional
poets on both KFYR AM 550 and KBMR AM 1130. My farm programming is streamed
on-line and archived on our websites
www.kfyr.com nd www.kbmr.com ...
so people can catch it on the internet if not on the air."
Al Gustin also assists North Dakota's
Morton Mandan Library
with their annual Cowboy Poetry Week display.
Montana poet, songwriter, and ranch
hand
DW
Groethe has received a letter of recognition for
Cowboy Poetry
Week from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
The event will happen at the Fire Interpretive Center’s amphitheater
stage on
Saturday, April 23, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM.
Longtime wrangler and cowboy poet,
Fred Duzan, will entertain with well- known cowboy
recitations, including those of Baxter Black. He
will be joined by Entiat native guitarist and vocalist,
Chelsey Craven. Chelsey graduated from Entiat High School
in 2001, and was featured in several high school musicals. She earned
Bachelor degrees in Music and Spanish at Central Washington
University. She has recently performed at local venues such as Café
Mela, and the Der Hinteroff at the Leavenworth Oktoberfest. She was
also a finalist for the “Icicle Prize in Songwriting” for the Icicle
Arts Festival. She plays a blend of Americana, bluegrass, folk and
original music.
Cowboy Poetry Week is celebrated each year during April, National
Poetry Month, in the United States and Canada.
In 2011, Cowboy Poetry Week—the tenth annual—will be celebrated April
17-23, 2011. CowboyPoetry.com initiated Cowboy Poetry Week. In April
2003, the United States Senate passed a resolution, with unanimous
approval, recognizing the Cowboy Poetry Week celebration.
This event will be a special fundraiser for the Columbia Breaks Fire
Interpretive Center. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 at the
gate. Parking is available. Audience members are encouraged to bring
their own seating, such as folding chairs, and blankets. In case of
inclement weather, the event will be held under the new covered area
at the Fire Interpretive Center.
Forrest Fest, an international poetry festival, is
celebrating its eleventh year in 2011.
Our event is scheduled for
April 15 & 16, our theme
this year is Beats and Boots. We are a cross-cultural
gathering and have workshops on cowboy poetry and cowboy poets on our
featured artists program.
We have cowboy/folk musicians Zach Harmon,
Steve Brooks, and Rick Scott on our
program this year. Thom the World Poet is our MC of
international acclaim. The Circuit Riders Chuck Wagon Gang
will also be providing our BBQ this year.
Posted 3/15
Poet
Van Criddle
has
received a proclamation
from Oregon Governor
John Kitzhaber,
proclaiming Cowboy Poetry Week in Oregon.
From Jodi Oberweiser, Drummond School Community Library:
Our library is hosting a program featuring local cowboy poets at
our Night @ the Library on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 7pm.
We encourage people to attend the event that has been organized by
Janalee Martin,
a local poet and friend to our library. Attendees enjoy listening to
local ranchers and cowboys recite their poetry...It has become an
event that people look forward to and request as early as our June
planning meeting.
Posted 3/24
Fort St. John, British Columbia's
Northeast News
features nine-year-old
Jayden Stafford,
the winner of the Kamloops Cowboy Festival's
Rising Star Showcase in an article, "The
little cowboy with the big voice wins in Kamloops."
Additional libraries who have let us know that they are planning events
and exhibits for Cowboy Poetry Week include:
Event at
Olive Warner Memorial Library
in
Hooker, Oklahoma
on April 15.
Event at
Goldendale Community Library
in
Goldendale, Washington
on April 19.
Exhibit at
Gordon City Library
in
Gordon, Nebraska
We'll have more details as they are received.
Among the first comments received from libraries
receiving the Cowboy Poetry Week poster and
The BAR-D Roundup this year:
Attendees enjoy listening to local ranchers and
cowboys recite their poetry...It has become an event that people look
forward to and request as early as our June planning meeting (Montana)
The Rural Library Project has helped bring community
members, particularly those from a ranching heritage... to hear poetry
that interests them. This has broadened our outreach to the
community...There are members of the community that we only see once a
year....Thank you to the Rural Library Project for supporting our
programs over the years. (Colorado)
Thank you for the poster. I am excited to display that... (Washington)
[The CD will] help us promote cowboy poetry in our community...
(Idaho)
Our copies for previous years always circulate, and we appreciate the
free material. (Colorado)
Thank you very much for providing this...(Nebraska)
The BAR-D Roundup would be a
welcome addition to our collection. We are a cowboy town...
(Washington)
Thank you for the wonderful poster (Nevada)
Thank you for your generous
contributions over the years... (Texas)
Thank you for the attractive poster for Cowboy Poetry Week...
(Montana)
Thank you for the beautiful poster. (Nevada)
We look forward to helping spread the word about our rural Western
writers, musicians and artists! (Texas)
We will use the poster in our annual display celebrating cowboy
poetry... (Colorado)
Our event will be Tuesday, April 19th at 7 pm at the
Prescott Lions Hall. There will be entertainment from
Cimarron Sue
and
Robin Dale, an open mic to share cowboy poetry, and the winners of
the poetry contest and the tall tale contest will be announced.
A coloring contest, with art by local resident Don
Hollenbaugh, will be judged by the audience that night. The Friends
of the Prescott Library will be providing food and help with setting
up and taking down the event. The library district will provide free
books for children attending the event as well.
,
Otto Rossfeld
and Rex Rideout
offer the history, songs and poems of the cowboy at the Park County
Public Library, Cody, Wyoming on Friday, April 15, 2:00 to 5:00.
Rex Rideout
wraps up National Poetry Month and Cowboy Poetry Week with a cowboy
poetry session at the Arthur Lakes Library, Colorado School of
Mines, Golden Colorado. April 29, 12:00.
This year's Around the Campfire on the Great Western
Cattle Trail will be April 23rd 3-9 p.m.
Chuckwagon meal at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact Tina Hodge at the Chamber office,
325-396-2365; www.menardchamber.com
Posted 4/4
April 15-17, 2011 3rd
Annual Songs of the CowboysCody,
Wyoming
~ Celebrating
Cowboy Poetry Week
From Leslie Keltner:
Runumuk Cowgirl
Productions is proud to present the 3rd annual “
Songs
of the Cowboys” festival in
Cody, Wyoming, April 15-17.
Thirty musicians from 8 states will gather in the Bandana Room of the
Holiday Inn to perform traditional cowboy music and poetry in three
concerts, day sessions, and a Sunday morning gospel session.
Late night jam sessions will be held at the Irma Hotel, Cassie’s
Supper Club and the V.F.W. club on Friday and Saturday nights.
Performers include
Pop Wagner,
Ike Hall,
John Shreve,
Glenn Ohrlin,
Rex Rideout,
Susan Park,
Gwen Petersen,
Vince & Mindi,
Jim Garry,
Tim Ward,
Bob Loper,
Bruce & Lyn Messersmith,
Otto Rosfeld,
Leslie Keltner,
Liz Masterson,
Larry/Matt &
Ryan,
John Sidle,
Bruce South,
Vic Anderson,
Norrine Linderman,
Almeda Bradshaw,
Bill Chiles,
Bob Lantis,
Ray and Shirley Jacobs, and
Joe Bain.
Join a
community-wide celebration of cowboy music, poetry, and tradition.
Special room rates are available at the Holiday Inn and the Irma.
For info, call 307-587-1558 Leslie.
We are funded in part by Wyoming Arts Council and Park County Travel
Council.
Poet 
Radio broadcaster
Rancher, poet, and songwriter
Idaho poet 
Arkansas poet, songwriter, and cowboy 
Poet, writer, and cowgirl
Poet
