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This is an interim blog for CowboyPoetry.com, maintained while a new site is being built. All of the old site remains available at CowboyPoetry.com. This blog includes news, events, poetry, and more.

Visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

cowboybar — This photo, taken in Dodson, Montana, is by Stan Howe, Montana singer, songwriter, musician, storyteller, writer, radio host, auctioneer, and fiddle expert.

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Find our current individual donors and sponsors here on this blog.

See all of the generous supporters to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry and find how to be a part of it all here.

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You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail) 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-exemptnon-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Act. The Center seeks grants and donations from individuals, corporate entities, foundations, and private sources.

Contributions to the Center are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes.

The BAR-D Roundup fair market value is $15 and that amount is not deductible as a charitable contribution.

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

VISIT OUR SPONSORS

Cowboy Poetry Week: April 21-27, 2019

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image © 2015, Shawn Cameron, “Making Plans”

Below:
About Cowboy Poetry Week
Get Involved
Rural Library Program
MASTERS: VOLUME THREE CD
Poster by Shawn Cameron

Elsewhere on the blog:
Cowboy Poetry Week News
Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur
MASTERS: VOLUME THREE CD

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COWBOY POETRY
by Jane Morton

The round-ups, the brandings,
the calvings are done,
as ranchers sell out
and move on one by one.

We must tell the stories,
so memories live on,
past time when the tellers
themselves are long gone.

Cowboy Poetry Week is celebrated each year during April, National Poetry Month in the United States.

In 2019, Cowboy Poetry Week—the eighteenth annual—takes place April 21-27, 2019.

In 2019 it is made possible by generous support from Laura and Edmund Wattis Littlefield, a grant from the Margaret T. Morris Foundation, and the individuals and organizations who support the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry.

CowboyPoetry.com initiated Cowboy Poetry Week, and for the celebration’s second year, in April 2003, the United States Senate passed a resolution, with unanimous approval, recognizing our Cowboy Poetry Week celebration. Twenty-three states’ governors and other officials have recognized Cowboy Poetry Week since, and many activities take place in communities across the West and beyond.

See the 2019 events—to date—on the calendar here.

GET INVOLVED!

Get your schools, libraries, and community involved! Perform your poetry, donate a book or CD, share your knowledge.

Find ideas about how to get involved here.

THE RURAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

The Rural Library Program is an important Cowboy Poetry Week outreach activity, a part of our mission to serve a mostly under-served community of rural Westerners. Each year, a new compilation CD of top classic and contemporary cowboy poetry is offered, along with Cowboy Poetry Week posters, to many rural libraries across the West. The CD is also available for purchase.

THE MASTERS CD

For 2019, the CD is MASTERS: VOLUME THREE, a collection of poems by Bruce Kiskaddon.

Find more about the CD here.

CDs are sent to libraries in Cowboy Poetry Week’s associated Rural Library Program, given to supporters (at the $50 USD level and higher) as thank you gifts, and available to the public.

Find information about the previous MASTERS CDs here, the BAR-D Roundup series, at CowboyPoetry.com.

THE 2019 POSTER

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Arizona rancher and artist Shawn Cameron’s painting, “Making Plans,” is selected as the 2019 Cowboy Poetry Week poster image and a special Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur.

Shawn Cameron tells about the painting:

Occasionally a moment in time lingers in your memory. The clear morning air was brisk as my husband and another rider paused to discuss the day before them. Plans were being made to cover their area of a large pasture during spring roundup. I’ve never tired of observing men on a mission who have goals and possess the skills to accomplish them. There is an undeniable posture of pride in these horseback men who face a day of unknown challenges with confidence and determination. Even the horses contemplate the miles before them. My subjects are more than cowboys and horses but rather scenes of quiet strength and courage. I was motivated by such an atmosphere to share “Making Plans” on canvas.

About Shawn Cameron, from her web site:

Shawn captures moments in the lives of those who live and work on ranches today. An article in Southwest Art by Mark Mussari in 2008 referred to Shawn as, “The Real Thing.” She’s considered an accomplished professional in western art but her roots run deeper than most. She descended from two pioneer families who came in ox drawn covered wagons from Virginia across the Oregon Trail and on a southerly route from Texas in the 1860s and 70s, driving herds of cattle with them. That began an Arizona ranching legacy that continues today into the seventh generation. The Hatchet brand registered by her father’s family in 1885 is one of the state’s oldest on file.

Shawn and Dean met while in high school and married after his tour in the army. They settled on her family’s cattle ranch where they raised three children and she continued working in her art. She expressed what she saw. Pencil was her primary medium at that time but oil, watercolor, pastel and bronze were added to the mix. Although she hopes to explore these areas more, oil painting is her focus today. Learning is a life-long passion and the art world is an infinite resource. The mentoring of several prominent western artists helped her work grow and evolve into an a career that has spanned 3 decades. She remains grateful to all but especially Bill Owen, for generously sharing his knowledge in many areas, for Joe Beeler whose continued encouragement and support meant so much and to Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt who opened a door to the world of professional art.

Resource material is gathered on the family’s ranch of Dean, other family members and cowboys as they work. These captured memories become visual references. They are taken to her studio and aide in the creation of oil paintings using a palette with colors selected for the time of day.

She is closely surrounded by critics for accuracy yet her goal is to grow in ability to portray the life she knows so well.

Exhibitions of her work include the Prix de West and Small Works Great Wonders at the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. She’s participated in Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West at the Desert Caballeros Museum in Wickenburg, AZ where she was awarded the “Artist’s Choice Award” in 2007 and the “Governor’s Choice Award” in 2015 and 2016. Shawn was extremely honored to serve with Martin Grelle as Co-Featured Artists at the C.M. Russell Auction and Sale in 2008 in Great Falls, MT. She’s participated in the Night of Artists at the Briscoe Museum in San Antonio, TX and The Cheyenne Art Show in Cheyenne, WY. Another Texas art event she’s been involved in was the Heart of the West at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, TX where her mother’s 1942 Madison Square Garden photo is displayed. It’s been her pleasure to participate in the American Miniatures at Settler’s West Gallery in Tucson, AZ and the Masters in Miniature at the Phippen Art Museum in Prescott, AZ. Early in her career she was awarded the “Phippen Family Award” for a graphite drawing titled “Ranch Weathered” at the 1993 Phippen Western Art Show, in Prescott, AZ. The Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, AZ presented her with a “Lifetime Honorary Membership”in 2013.

In 2019 Shawn was given the “Will Rogers Award for Artist of the Year” by the Academy of Western Artists.

Her art has been featured on the cover of publications such as Western Art Collector, American Cowboy and Western Horseman. She’s been a featured artist in a number of magazines including Southwest Art, Art of the West, Western Art Collector and Western Horseman.

Find more about Shawn Cameron here; at CowboyPoetry.com; on Facebook at Shawn Cameron Painting the West, and at her site, shawncameron.com.

We were honored to have Shawn Camerons’ painting, “Making Adjustments,” for the 2013 Cowboy Poetry Week poster and Art Spur. Other past poster artists include Duward Campbell, Bob Coronato, Tim Cox, Don Dane, William Matthews, Tyler Crow, Clara Smith, Gary Morton, the late Bill Owen, Jason Rich, R.S. Riddick, and the late Joelle Smith. Find more at CowboyPoetry.com.

Posters are never sold. They are sent to participants in Cowboy Poetry Week’s Rural Library Program and sent to Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry supporters (at the $50 USD level and higher) as thank you gifts.

______________________

Find our current individual donors and sponsors here on this blog.

See all of the generous supporters to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry and find how to be a part of it all here.

______________________

You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail) or by a secure, on-line credit card payment through PayPal (a PayPal account is not required):

Contributions to the Center are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes.

The BAR-D Roundup fair market value is $15 and that amount is not deductible as a charitable contribution.

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

VISIT OUR SPONSORS

Cowboy Poetry Week News 2019

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Find more about Cowboy Poetry Week here.

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NEWS AND EVENTS

Find Cowboy Poetry Week events on the April calendar.

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Texas poet and regional historian Linda Kirkpatrick received an eloquent Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

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Jarle Kvale‘s Back at the Ranch weekly radio show features tracks from MASTERS: VOLUME THREE, the poetry of Bruce Kiskaddon, on his April 20 show. Find the show and archived shows here.

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From Sam DeLeeuw, who has organized Utah Cowboy Poetry in the Libraries (find event details on the April calendar).

First night of Cowboy Poetry in the Libraries is in the books! David Anderson with daughters Jenny and Amanda with grand kids, Riley and Cooper got a standing “O” for singing “You’ve Got a Friend!” Gordon Champneys, cowboy poet, brought grand kids Tib and Rainey to spin yarns and recite poetry. Great entertainment!

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Sam, Bob Urry (poet extraordinaire) along with Snoose Argyle, Brian Arnold, Laurie Morgan and Cindy Argyle of the group SADDLE STRINGS! Third night of Cowboy Poetry in the Weber County Libraries! Another great evening of entertainment!

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On Thursday, April 25, 5-7 PM, “A Literary Western Versification,” an event organized by Karlene Gonzales-Martinez of the Donnelly Library-Ray Drew Art Gallery at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico, features Deanna Dickinson McCall; Randy Huston; and poems by Stewart Williamson performed by Duke Sundt.

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Karlene Gonzales-Martinez also shared some photos of Cowboy Poetry Week exhibits at the Donnelly Library-Ray Drew Art Gallery at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico:

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Each year for Cowboy Poetry Week, Andy and Jim Nelson‘s popular Clear Out West (C.O.W.) radio show features cowboy poetry and songs that were created from poems. Listen to the show here.

This year’s show, April 22-28, 2019, features poetry tracks from the new MASTERS: VOLUME THREE, poems of Bruce Kiskaddon 3-CD set from CowboyPoetry.com and other music that came from poems.

The lineup includes Stephanie Davis sings “Hittin’ the Trail Tonight,” from the poem by Bruce Kiskaddon; Gary McMahan recites Kiskaddon’s “The Creak of the Leather”; Prickly Pair sings “The Ranch Sale,” from the poem by Ivan Kershner; Trey Allen recites “Alone” by Bruce Kiskaddon; Andy Nelson recites “Then and Now” by Bruce Kiskaddon; Rex Allen puts Gail I. Gardner’s “The Sierry Petes” to music; Brenn Hill sings “Bristlecone Pine,” from a poem by Waddie Mitchell; Baxter Black recites Bruce Kiskaddon’s “They Can Take It”; Randy Reiman recites “An Old Western Town” by Bruce Kiskaddon; and Michael Martin Murphey sings “A Border Affair (Spanish is the Loving Tongue)” by Badger Clark.

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Colorado rancher delivered poems to the Colorado State Legislature on April 16, 2019 in celebration of Cowboy Poetry Week. After performing one of his poems, he offered the James Barton Adams’ classic “Bill’s in Trouble.”

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Floyd and Valerie Beard will perform at the Mitchell Art Museum in Trinidad on Friday, April 26, 2019. Find details on the April calendar.

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Montana ranch hand, poet, and picker DW Groethe received a Cowboy Poetry Week letter of recognition from Montana Governor Steve Bullock:

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Wendy Brown has a long involvement with Cowboy Poetry Week. She shared this media release about activities at California’s Mariposa Public Library in their “Write to Read” program, which is broadcast on KRYZ radio:

THE MARIPOSA COUNTY LIBRARY IS CELEBRATING COWBOY POETRY WEEK

Cowboy Poetry Week is celebrated each year during April. April is National Poetry Month in the United States. This year the annual cowboy poetry celebration takes place from April 21-27.

Eighteen years ago cowboypoetry.com initiated Cowboy Poetry Week. In April 2003 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution with unanimous approval, recognizing the Cowboy Poetry Week Celebration. Cowboypoetry.com sponsors the Bar-D Ranch web site. Their mission is to preserve and celebrate the arts and life of rural communities everywhere. An important component of Cowboy Poetry Week is the Rural Library Program. Our county library has participated in this program since 2009 with recitations, displays, and cowboy poetry writing workshops. This year local cowboy poet Wendy Brown-Barry has been invited by the library to participate in their new “Write To Read” program, a radio show where local people read what they write. It is hosted by the Mariposa Library Adult Literacy Program on KRYZ 98.5 FM, Mariposa’s Community Radio Station. Wendy’s show will air on Sunday, April 21st at 4:00 p.m., and Tuesday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. She will be talking about and sharing cowboy poetry along with a short story titled “Sometimes Our Animals Choose Us.” Another way to listen in is to go to KRYZradio.org on your computer.

Tune in and support this oral tradition of the working West, that spans three centuries. You can visit Wendy’s web site at: wendybrown-barry.com.

wendybrownlib2019 Wendy also shared a photo of the Mariposa Library’s exhibit:

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As he does each year, David L. Carlton, seventh-generation Floridian raised in the cattle industry, worked with Florida officials for a Cabinet resolution from the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida for Cowboy Poetry Week:

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Montana’s Miles City Public Library shared photos of their Cowboy Poetry Week exhibits:

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Oklahoma rancher, poet, and songwriter Jay Snider received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.

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From Nebraska storyteller and poet Marci Broyhill:

Teresa Kay Orr and Marci Broyhill had a great time at the South Sioux City
Library presenting their program, “Aprons, Skirts, Hats & Flirts: Women-Their Range of Status During the Western Movement.” The staff at the SSC Library was very helpful. The audience was wonderfully attentive and responsive.

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Marci and Teri also had a presentation on Monday, April 15, 2019 7:00 PM at the John A. Stahl Library in West Point, Nebraska.

Sisters Teresa Kay Orr and Marci Broyhill have two programs through Humanities Nebraska: Aprons, Skirts, Hats & Flirts: Women-Their Range of Status During the Western Movement and Sisters From the Outlaw Trail: History through Poetry and Music. Marci Broyhill also has her own Humanities program: Nebraska’s Outlaw Trail, Highway 12.

Marci Broyhill has received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts:

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South Dakota poet and rancher Robert Dennis has been visiting rural schools with Shelane Graham, the traveling librarian for all six rural schools in Meade County.

Robert Dennis received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem:

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602866_601568729871791_179439946_n Cowboy Poetry Week will be celebrated at Utah’s Draper Library on April 23, 2019 Don Korth, STAMPEDE! (Terri and Steve Taylor, pictured), and poet and author Laurie Tye. Find details on the April calendar.

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Horseman, poet, and radio host Jarle Kvale received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

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Washington poet, musician, and artist Lynn Kopelke received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

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Jo Lynne Kirwood, Greg Harwood, and Kenny Hall, members of the Cowboy Poets of Utah, celebrate Cowboy Poetry Week in an event on April 12, 2019 at 7 PM at the North Sevier High School Library in Salina, Utah:

How to CELEBRATE

The Cowboy Poets of Utah have a long-time involvement with Cowboy Poetry Week. Their March newsletter includes a brief history of the event, information about the Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur, events, and more.

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The Campfire Cafe with Gary I. Holt and Bobbi Jean Bell on Equestrianlegacy.net radio celebrates Cowboy Poetry Week with poets Kathy Moss and Tom Swearingen on Thursday, April 18, 2019. Both poets have new CDs. The program is live at noon, CST and available at any time on the podcast at Equestrianlegacy.net.

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Musician and poet Shane Queener received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee:

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Colorado ranchers Valerie and Floyd Beard have two Cowboy Poetry Week events scheduled: They will perform at the Mitchell Art Museum in Trinidad on Friday, April 26th and Floyd will deliver a few poems to the Colorado State Legislature on April 16th. Find details on the April calendar.

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Oregon poet Tom Swearingen received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Oregon Governor Kate Brown:

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Judy James, four-time WMA DJ of the year will celebrate Cowboy Poetry Week on Cowboy Jubilee her show with many poems. Tune in to the show from Weatherford, Texas, on Saturday mornings, 7:30-9:30 am via judyjamesradio.com.

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Colorado musician Red Rideout has a Cowboy Poetry Week event on April 8, 2019 in Evergreen, Colorado. Find the event on the April calendar.

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Great friend of the BAR-D Chuck Learn will celebrate Cowboy Poetry Week reciting at the 26th annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, April 11-14, 2019 in Historic Old Town Newhall, California. He’ll be at OutWest Stage, run by Jim and Bobbi Jean Bell of OutWest Shop; they host the popular Buckaroo Book Shop and the OutWest Stage at the festival.

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Nevada poet Dan Bybee obtained a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak:

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Russ Westwood of Mesquite, Nevada, has organized a number of events at nearby Utah libraries for the Cowboy Poetry Group of Mesquite. At Enterprise, Marleen Bussma, Mark Kerr, Mike Prince, and Jim Parsons will take part. Find all of the events on the April calendar.

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Cowboy, packer, poet and humorist Chris Isaacs received a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Arizona Governor Douglas Ducey.

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Utah poet Sam DeLeeuw has has organized a number of events for Cowboy Poetry Week at Utah‘s Weber County libraries. Joining her will be poets and musicians Robin Arnold, Thatch Elmer, Saddle Strings, Gordon Champneys (and two of his grandchildren), Amanda Hoesel, and Jenny and David Anderson. Find the events on the April calendar.

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Oregon poet Tom Swearingen always takes an active part in Cowboy Poetry Week and this year he’ll be making appearances at the Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City, Oregon and at the Juanita Pohl Community Center in Tualatin, Oregon. Find the events on the April calendar.

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Colorado musician Red Rideout is seeking a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

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Poet and rancher Diane Tribitt Scott is seeking a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

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Award-winning DJ Totsie Slover of The Real West from the Old West show is seeking a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from New Mexico Governor Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham.

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idahoflj Poet and storyteller Smoke Wade is seeking a Cowboy Poetry Week proclamation from Idaho Governor Brad Little.

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Much more to come…

MASTERS: VOLUME THREE, the poetry of Bruce Kiskaddon

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photo of Bruce Kiskaddon licensed from the Aultman Collection, History Colorado

Praise for previous CDs from CowboyPoetry.com:

“The MASTERS of cowboy poetry series from CowboyPoetry.com showcases both the masters of writing Western poetic words and masters of delivering those words. It just doesn’t get any better than that.” Rick Huff, Rick Huff’s Best of the West Reviews

“This album [MASTERS (2017)] represents four of the finest poets to ever come out of cowboy culture. We are not likely to see their kind again and the world should be grateful to Cowboypoetry.com for preserving their voices.” Andy Hedges, songster and host of COWBOY CROSSROADS

“…The annual anthology takes listeners on an oral excursion to places throughout the West, introducing them to colorful cowboy characters, explaining their connection to the land, and telling their tales of tough times and the rewards they receive from living the Western lifestyle…” Jennifer Denison, Senior Editor, Western Horseman

“The Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry’s annual anthologies are creating a valuable, high quality and thoroughly enjoyable resource for everyone…” Steve Green, Archivist, Western Folklife Center

“…without peer…intelligently produced… I equate them to one of those Ken Burns specials, like his Civil War, Jazz, or Baseball….the best of the best.” Rick Huff, Rick Huff’s Best of the West Reviews

“For those of us who love cowboy poetry, this is perhaps the best anthology we’ve yet heard.” Cowboy Magazine

The Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry produces compilation CDs of classic and contemporary poetry recitations. The CDs are offered to libraries in the Center’s Cowboy Poetry Week Rural Library project, given as premiums to the Center’s supporters, and available to the public.

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Our thirteenth CD (following ten volumes of The BAR-D Roundup and two MASTERS volumes) is MASTERS: VOLUME THREE, the poetry of Bruce Kiskaddon (April 2019).

MASTERS: VOLUME THREE has over 60 tracks in a multi-disc CD of the poetry of Bruce Kiskaddon (1878-1950). Voices from the past and from today’s top reciters and poets celebrate cowboy poetry’s popular classic poet. Bill Siems, whose monumental work, Open Range, collects almost all of Kiskaddon’s nearly 500 poems, introduces the CD.

Bruce Kiskaddon (1878-1950) worked for ten years as a cowboy, starting in 1898 in southeastern Colorado’s Picketwire area. He published short stories and nearly 500 poems. His poems are among the most admired and the most recited in the “classic” cowboy poetry canon.

Find more about Kiskaddon at CowboyPoetry.com.

The MASTERS CD is dedicated to all those who proudly carry on the ranching tradition.

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The Center’s Cowboy Poetry Week celebration—recognized by unanimous U.S. Senate resolution—takes place each April during National Poetry Month. Each year, a compilation CD and the celebration’s poster (by Shawn Cameron in 2019) have been offered to libraries in the Center’s Rural Library Program. The outreach program is part of the Center’s commitment to serve rural communities and to preserve and promote our Western heritage.

The annual CD is a premium for our supporters and also available for purchase. Find information about past years’ CDs here.

We need your support to continue and expand these programs. Join us and be a part of it all.

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Order information

The MASTERS CD is available for $35 postpaid. Order with a credit card at Paypal or by mail: CowboyPoetry.com, Box 1107, Lexington, VA 24450.

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Below:

Track list and description
Acknowledgements

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The over 60 tracks on three CDs begin with an biographical introduction to Bruce Kiskaddon by Bill Siems, whose monumental work, Open Range, collects almost all of Kiskaddon’s nearly 500 poems.

The poetry begins with some of the best known of Kiskaddon’s reflective poems, with a look backward to “when cattle were plenty and men were few.” Then poems that follow are, somewhat in this order: about cowboys and men; work; cattle; horses (and one mule); heavenly concerns; times gone by; quirky characters; gear; a ghost tale; and a few Christmas poems. Musician and top sound engineer Butch Hause offers a colorful radio PSA for the Center and Cowboy Poetry Week.

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DISC ONE

1. ABOUT BRUCE KISKADDON Bill Siems
2. from LOOKING BACKWARD Randy Rieman
3. WHEN THEY’VE FINISHED SHIPPING CATTLE IN THE FALL Randy Rieman
4. THE BRONCHO TWISTER’S PRAYER Jay Snider
5. THE TIME TO DECIDE Andy Hedges
6. THE CREAK OF THE LEATHER Gary McMahan
7. ALONE Trey Allen (1971-2016)
8. AFTER THE FALL ROUNDUP Floyd Beard
9. BETWEEN THE LINES Jay Snider
10. THE DRIFTER Ol’ Jim Cathey
11. HE DIDN’T BELONG Rod Miller
12. IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ME OR IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN YOU Ken Cook
13. THE LONG EARED BULL Ross Knox
14. THE OLD NIGHT HAWK Chris Isaacs
15. THE NEW MEXICO STRAY Dennis Russell
16. MICROBES Jerry Brooks
17. STARTIN’ OUT Gail Steiger
18. COW SENSE Deanna Dickinson McCall
19. THE COW AND THE CALF Amy Hale Auker
20. NOT SO SLOW Jessica Hedges
21. SHOVELING THE ICE OUT OF THE TROUGH Robert Dennis
22. THE LONG HORN SPEAKS Valerie Beard

DISC TWO

1. INTRODUCTORY Ken Cook
2. EARLY WORM Keith Ward
3. RIDIN’ FENCE Gail Steiger
4. FEEDIN’ TIME John Reedy
5. THEY CAN TAKE IT Baxter Black
6. THAT LITTLE BLUE ROAN J.B. Allen (1938-2005)
7. THE BELL MARE Brigid Reedy
8. FORGOTTEN Jesse Smith
9. WHEN YOU’RE THROWED Randy Rieman
10. WHEN HE COLD JAWS Duane Nelson
11. CAUGHT NAPPIN’ Keith Ward
12. PULLIN’ LEATHER Gary McMahan
13. ON FOOT Kathy Moss
14. HER COLT Susie Knight
15. THE ARMY MULE Kay Kelley Nowell
16. THE GENTLE HOSS Tom Swearingen
17. THE OLD COW PONY Dick Morton
18. WHEN CONNORS RODE REP FOR THE LORD Ross Knox
19. JUDGMENT DAY DW Groethe
20. THE COW BOY’S DREAM Waddie Mitchell

DISC THREE

1. AN OLD WESTERN TOWN Randy Rieman
2. THE MEDICINE SHOW Andy Hedges
3. THEN AND NOW Andy Nelson
4. PROGRESS Dale Page
5. THE BRANDIN’ CORRAL Almeda Bradshaw
6. AUGERIN’ Smoke Wade
7. THE MAN ON THE FENCE Bill Siems
8. A COWBOY’S BRAINS Sunny Hancock (1931-2003)
9. DRINKIN’ WATER Jarle Kvale
10. WET BOOTS Johnny Reedy
11. ALKALI IKE’S ZIPPERS Rusty McCall (1986-2013)
12. WORKIN’ IT OVER David McCall
13. THE LOST FLANNINS Terry Nash
14. HER MAN Susie Knight
15. GHOST CANYON TRAIL Rex Rideout

CHRISTMAS POEMS
16. CHRISTMAS AT THE HOME RANCH Keith Ward
17. THE OLD TIME CHRISTMAS Linda Kirkpatrick
18. MERRY CHRISTMAS (1933) Gail Steiger

19. CENTER FOR WESTERN AND COWBOY POETRY RADIO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT (PSA) Butch Hause

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Thanks to the poets, reciters, and families and to Bill Siems, Andy Hedges, Margaret Allen, Jeffrey Hancock, the McCall family, the Western Folklife Center, the Cowboy Crossroads podcast, History Colorado, Andy Nelson and Clear Out West (C.O.W.) radio, Totsie Slover and The Real West from the Old West radio, and Chris Kirby. Produced by Margo Metegrano and compiled and mastered by Butch Hause at the Ranger Station Studio, Berthoud, Colorado, all with generous funding support from Laura and Edmund Wattis Littlefield, Jr., the Margaret T. Morris Foundation, and our community’s all-important sustaining donors.

Photograph of Bruce Kiskaddon licensed from the Aultman Collection, History Colorado.

“Making Plans,” by Shawn Cameron Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur, 2019

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Our 50th piece offered to “spur” the imagination is a special Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur, a painting by Arizona rancher and artist Shawn Cameron, “Making Plans.” The painting is selected as the poster art for the 18th annual Cowboy Poetry Week.

Shawn Cameron comments on painting’s inspiration:

We’re honored to have “Making Plans” for the 18th annual Cowboy Poetry Week poster art:

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Find more about Shawn Cameron in our feature here and visit shawncameron.com.

SUBMISSIONS

Submissions from all were welcome through Monday, April 15, 2019. Selected poems will be posted here during Cowboy Poetry Week.

Find previous Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur subjects and their poems here and at CowboyPoetry.com.

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ODE TO THE CALF CRADLE, by Larry McWhorter

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ODE TO THE CALF CRADLE
by Larry McWhorter (1957-2003)

Modern day ranchers are doohickied up
But some gadgets do come in handy.
To have a truck and a trailer with you
On the back side at sundown is dandy.

Them feeders you see on flatbeds now
Sure beat them hundred pound sacks,
Round bales are moved with tractor and winch,
These all save on cowboys’ backs.

The makers of these should see paradise,
St. Pete, let them in if you’re able.
But the fires of Hell won’t be hot enough
For the man who made the calf table.

That heavy, clangin’, foul lookin’ trap
That eats cowboys’ fingers for lunch,
I think it’s alive, for I’ve seen it grin
When my hand it got its chance to crunch.

Oh for the days when the brandin’s were pure,
When the dragger and horse were the kings.
The brandin’ pen was a field of honor
Before that nut forged them foul things.

I’m sure that honyock really meant well.
We all have to do things to cope.
But on their best day, there’s no way they’re faster
Than an old gray haired man with a rope.

The years bring on change and the old ways must fall,
“Efficiency” rules now, I guess,
But that man and his cradle are doing away
With the job that the cowboy loves best.

Now, I’m not one to wish bad luck,
I’ve no use for witch doctor’s powers.
But I hope that feller lives a thousand years
With a case of incurable scours.

The last time we shared this poem, Colorado rancher and poet Terry Nash suggested that it would be a good follow-up to Bruce Kiskaddon’s poem (posted Monday) “The Brandin’ Corral.” Thanks to the generous permission of Andrea Waitley, it is a pleasure to share it. As she commented, it is a poem that working cowboys love.

A much admired and respected cowboy’s cowboy, poet, and musician, Larry McWhorter left behind an impressive collection of poetry.

Larry McWhorter wrote about this poem in his book, Cowboy Poetry: Contemporary Verse by Larry McWhorter (2000):

I remember Dad telling me about a prospective buyer looking over the ranch he now runs. After an extensive tour of the place, the buyer asked where the calf table was. Dad replied, “I loaned it to a neighbor on the condition he never bring it back!”

I am of the opinion that the only people who don’t enjoy branding calves by dragging them to the fire are a) people who have never been where it was done right or b) people who are not good at it.

I realize circumstances dictate a lot of situations. However, I would almost prefer to be fencing or pulling a windmill to working a calf table. It’s about the same thing to me.

The works of Larry McWhorter, J.B. Allen, Sunny Hancock, and Ray Owens are featured in the first MASTERS CD (2017) from CowboyPoetry.com. They recite their poetry in recorded poems, “live” performances, and also recite other masters’ works (Buck Ramsey, S. Omar Barker, and Henry Herbert Knibbs). Jay Snider introduces the CD.

Larry McWhorter’s friend, Texas singer and songwriter Jean Prescott produced an impressive double-CD album of his work in 2010, with his recitations and also recordings by some of his friends reciting his work, including Oscar Auker, Red Steagall, Waddie Mitchell, Andy Hedges, and others. Find more about that project at CowboyPoetry.com.

Find more poetry and more about Larry McWhorter at CowboyPoetry.com.

This photo comes from Terry Nash; it’s his current Facebook cover photo. Find more about Terry at CowboyPoetry.com and at his site, terrynashcowboypoet.com.

(Please respect copyright. You can share this poem and photo with this post, but for other uses, please obtain permission.)

Events: April

Find links to all months here.

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• through May 12, 2019
14th Annual Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West Wickenburg, Arizona

• April 6, 2019
A Night with the Cowboys Brownsville, oregon

• April 7, 2019
9th Annual Poetry & BBQ Vero Beach, Florida

• April 9-14
Shooting the West Winnemucca, Nevada

• April 12, 2019
Trail’s End Spring Show Calgary, Alberta

• April 12-13, 2019
32nd Annual St. Anthony Cowboy Poetry Gathering St. Anthony, Idaho

• April 13, 2019
Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• April 13, 2019
Ranch Day at the National Ranching Heritage Center Lubbock, Texas

• April 13-14, 2019
26th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Santa Clarita, California

• April 13-14, 2019
Folkfest New Braunfels, Texas

• April 18-22, 2019
53rd National Folk Festival Canberra, Australia

• April 19-21, 2019
98th Annual Red Bluff Roundup Red Bluff, California

• April 20-May 28, 2018
Trappings of Texas Custom Cowboy Gear and Western Art Exhibit Alpine, Texas

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April 21-27, 2019: 18th annual Cowboy Poetry Week

CPW_Cameron_Poster_2019_R1

Cowboy Poetry Week events:

Monday, April 8, 2019
Evergreen Library – Jefferson County Public Library
Cowboy poetry and music with Rex Rideout
Open to all 6:00 PM
5000 Co Rd 73 Evergreen, Colorado 80439

Friday, April 12, 2019
North Sevier High School Library
Cowboy poetry and music with Jo Lynne Kirkwood, Greg Harwood, and Kenny Hall Open to all 7:00 pm
350 W 400 N. Salina, Utah

Saturday April 13 and Sunday April 14, 2019
26th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival
Cowboy poetry with Chuck Learn on the Outwest Stage 1:55-2:20 pm
William S. Hart Park Event Area
22400 13th Street Santa Clarita, California

Monday, April 15, 2019
Ogden Main Library
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 6:30 pm
Open to all
2464 Jefferson Ave. Ogden, Utah
with Amanda Hoesel; Jenny Anderson accompanied by David Anderson; Gordon Champneys and his two grandchildren Rainy Champneys (age 8) and Tib Champneys
(age 11); and Sam DeLeeuw as emcee

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Southwest Branch Library
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 6:30 pm
Open to all
2039 West 4000 S. Roy, Utah
with Robin Arnold & Sam DeLeeuw

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Hurricane Branch Library
Cowboy poetry and music by the Cowboy Poetry Group of Mesquite 4:00 pm
36 S. 300 W. Hurricane, Utah

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Colorado Capitol Building
Cowboy poetry by Floyd Beard for the Colorado State Legislature
200 E Colfax Ave. Denver, Colorado

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Washington Branch Library
Cowboy poetry and music by the Cowboy Poetry Group of Mesquite 6:00 pm
220 N. 300 E. Washington, Utah

Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Museum of the Oregon Territory
“Murdock Talks-Monthly Lecture Series” 7-8 pm
No cost courtesy of Clackamas County Historical Society
211 Tumwater Drive, Oregon City, Oregon
with Tom Swearingen

Wednesday, April 17, 2019
North Branch Library
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 6:30 pm
475 East 2600 No, Ogden, Utah
with Saddle Strings & Bob Urry

Thursday, April 18, 2019
The Campfire Cafe on Equestrian Legacy Radio with Bobbi Jean Bell and Gary Holt
Cowboy poetry with poets Kathy Moss and Tom Swearingen, noon CST
Later available at Equestrianlegacy.net

Thursday, April 18, 2019
Pleasant Valley Branch
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 6:30 pm
5568 Adams Avenue, Ogden, Utah
with Sawtooth Mountain Boys & Gordon Champneys

Thursday, April 18, 2019
St George Branch Library
Cowboy poetry and music by the Cowboy Poetry Group of Mesquite 6:00 pm
88 W. 100 S. St. George, Utah

Saturday, April 20, 2019
Ogden Valley Branch
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 1:00 pm
131 South 400 East, Huntsville, Utah
with David Anderson & Thatch Elmer

Saturday, April 20, 2019
Cowboy Poetry Week Program
Back at the Ranch Radio
available on demand

Saturday, April 20, 2019
Enterprise Branch Library
Cowboy poetry and music by the Cowboy Poetry Group of Mesquite 2:00-3:00 pm
Marleen Bussma, Mark Kerr, Mike Prince, and Jim Parsons
Enterprise Branch Library
393 S. 200 E. Enterprise, Utah

Sunday, April 21, 2019
Mariposa Library’s Write to Read Program
KRYZ Radio at 4:00 PM
with Wendy Brown

Monday, April 22, 2019
Juanita Pohl Community Center
Cowboy Poetry Week Program 12:30-1:30 PM
No cost courtesy of Tualatin Parks and Recreation
8513 SW Tualatin, Rd. Tualatin, Oregon
with Tom Swearingen

week starting Monday, April 22, 2019
Annual Cowboy Poetry Week Program
Clear Out West (C.O.W.) Radio
available on demand

Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Draper Library
Cowboy Poetry and Western Music 6:30 to 8:00
1136 E Pioneer Rd, Draper, Utah
with Don Korth, STAMPEDE! (Terri and Steve Taylor), and Laurie Tye

Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Mariposa Library’s Write to Read Program
KRYZ Radio at 4:00 PM
with Wendy Brown

Thursday, April 25, 2019
A Literary Western Versification 5:00- 7:00 PM
Donnelly Library
New Mexico Highlands University
Las Vegas, New Mexico
with Deanna Dickinson McCall, Randy Huston, and poems by Stewart Williamson and Duke Sundt

Friday, April 26, 2019
A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art
Cowboy poetry by Valerie and Floyd Beard
150 E. Main St. Trinidad, Colorado

Friday, April 26, 2019
4th Annual Bristow Cowboy Poetry Gatherin’ Slick, Oklahoma

Saturday, April 27, 2019
7th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering 2:00-4:00 PM
Shoshoni Public Library
216 Idaho St.
Shoshoni, Wyoming

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• April 26, 2019
Kansas Cowboy Poetry Contest Regional Qualifying Contest #1 Ellsworth, Kansas

• April 26-28, 2019
Stagecoach Indio, California

• April 26-28, 2019
Genoa Western Heritage Days Genoa, Nevada

• April 26-18, 2019
103rd Annual Meeting, Texas Folklore Society McKinney, Texas

• April 27, 2019
48th Annual Bob Wills Day Festival Turkey, Texas

Donors

_____

CowboyPoetry.com celebrates our Western heritage and today’s working West, dedicated to preserving our important history and to promoting the Western arts that carry on those traditions. It’s a part of the non-profit Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry.

The Center was formed to serve a mostly rural and under-served community of Western writers, musicians, and artists; to help preserve Western and Cowboy Poetry and its associated arts; to offer a central resource for poets, libraries, schools, and the public; and to educate the public about the history and value of Western and Cowboy Poetry and its associated arts.

Supporters make a difference. With individual support, the Center can continue its programs, expand some of those efforts, and take on new projects. Individual support helps show institutional funders the community interest in our Western arts.

We thank our supporters, who are listed below. They make an important difference to the community of Western writers, musicians, and artists as we work together to preserve Western heritage and support Western and Cowboy Poetry and its associated arts. Please join us.

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

2019

RANGE Magazine (sponsor)
Marci Broyhill (sponsor)
Jim Thompson (Sacramento, CA)
Mark Munzert
Marilyn and Kip Sorlie
Shelly Pagliai-Prairie Moon Quilts
LaVerna B. Johnson
Almeda Bradshaw (sponsor)
Georganna Kresl
Susie Knight
Jeff Campbell
Betty and Ken Rodgers
Linda Nadon in memory of Georgie Sicking and Elizabeth Ebert
Al “Doc” Mehl and Doris Daley
Paul R. Brown III
Jeri Dobrowski
Dee Strickland Johnson (“Buckshot Dot”)
Rodney Nelson
Kay Kelley Nowell
Sally Baldus
Dave Stanley
Dale Page
Alan Mollenkopf
James Stanley
Ginger Manley
Jo Kirkwood
Susan Parker (sponsor)
Roshana Floyd
Denise Arvidson in memory of Ross Christian Arvidson
Scott and Diana Overcash
Cindy and Chuck Learn (sponsors)
Fred Haines
Patricia Frolander
Wendy Brown
DW Groethe
Stella and Ol’ Jim Cathey in memory of Charles (Charlie) Prentiss
and Loretta Kay (Flake) Kanavel
KC LaCourse
Valerie and Floyd Beard

2019 program support:
Laura and Edmund Wattis Littlefield Jr.
Margaret T. Morris Foundation

2018

John Waters
Paul R. Brown III
Almeda Bradshaw (sponsor)
Jim and Stella Cathey in memory of Louise M. Fritts
Marci Broyhill (sponsor)
Buzz Helfert
Al “Doc” Mehl and Doris Daley
Susan Matley in memory of Liz Masterson
Charmaine Ganson
Susan Parker
Marvin and Elaine Del Chiaro
Thomas F. Hawk
Terry Nash
Rodney Nelson
Patrick Sullivan
Jerry A. Brooks
Cindy Quigley
Lawrence Smith
Diana Rice
Susan Shuma
Susie Knight
David Carlton
Russ Westwood
Scott and Diana Overcash in memory of Debi Koppang
M. Todd Hess
David Sudbury
Janet Prezia
Georganna Kresl
L.L. “Lucky Lindy” Segall in memory of Carlos Ashley
Hugh Cooke
Linda Nadon in memory of Georgie Sicking
Don Hilmer
Yvonne Hollenbeck (sponsor)
Yvonne and Glen Hollenbeck
in memory of Liz Masterson, Kenny Krogman, Elizabeth Ebert
Jeff Thomas
Martha Singer
Ken Howry—Sunshine Prairie Farm
Jeri Dobrowski
Ron Secoy
Michael Henley
Jane and Dick Morton
Karen Bartholomew
Stella Callentine
Mark Munzert
Bryce Angell
Maryanne Patterson
Betty Burlingham
Denise Arvidson in memory of Ross Christian Arvidson
C.W. (Charley) Bell
Chuck and Cindy Learn (sponsor)
Kay Kelley Nowell
Charles A. St. Lucas
George Rhodes
Nick Bales
Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns (sponsor)
Bill Siems
Jim and Stella Cathey in memory of Sammie Green
Andy Nelson-Clear Out West (sponsor)
Jean Prescott (sponsor)
Marleen Bussma
Tom Swearingen
Gary McMahan
The Cowboy’s Workshop
Tom Linenbrink
Robert Dennis
Totsie Slover
Michael Henley
Richard Hall
Joseph C and Robin B Thomas
Daniel Wilson
John Walker
Jarle Kvale
Dale Page
Sally Smith-Joelle Smith Western Art
Daniel Bybee
Spalding Labs Flying SL Ranch Radio Show (sponsor)
Jerry A. Brooks
Terry Nash
Ron Secoy
Andria Kidd
Western Folklife Center (sponsor)
Sandy Seaton Sallee
Jean A. Haugen
Brian Sullivan
Smoke Wade
P’let and Mike Tcherkassky
Janice Gilbertson
Jeff Thomas
Mary Beth Piatt
Lynn Kopelke
Teresa Burleson
Deanna Dickinson McCall
Jay Snider (sponsor)
Roberta Rothman
The Cowpoke Fall Gathering (sponsor)
Sherrie Swanson
Linda Kirkpatrick
Rod Miller
Greg Camp

2019 program support:
Laura and Edmund Wattis Littlefield Jr.
Margaret T. Morris Foundation

VISIT OUR SPONSORS

See all of the generous supporters to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry below and find how to be a part of it all here.

You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail or mail to PO Box 1107, Lexington, VA 24450) 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. The Center seeks grants and donations from individuals, corporate entities, foundations, and private sources.

Contributions to the Center are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Donors at the $50 level* and higher receive the year’s CD and Cowboy Poetry Week poster. (The CD fair market value is $15 and that amount is not deductible as a charitable contribution.) *$65 USD for Canada and other international locations.

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

VISIT OUR SPONSOR SUPPORTERS