Clark Crouch

One of my poems, “Chopin’s Minute Waltz,” appears in a new book, Chopin with Cherries: a tribute in verse, ISBN 978-0-9819693-0-5, published by Moonrise Press and available through Lulu as well as other online and local booksellers.

Sorta unusual, but real nice for an old cowboy to be featured along with an impressive array of modern poets. But it’s understandable ’cause Chopin’s music transcends time and was much appreciated in the salons, saloons, and opera houses of the American West.

The book, an anthology of contemporary poetry edited by Maja Trochimczyk, will be officially presented during the 3rd International Chopin Congress (an event celebrating the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth) in Warsaw, Poland, February 24-March 1, 2010.

A second edition of the collection, planned for release next fall, will be bilingual and will include Polish translations by Polish-American poets: Leonard Kress, Maja Trochimczyk, Janusz Zalewski, and others.

Three new poems written in late January have now been posted on my website.

Jinglin’ Spurs Things can get pretty eerie when you’re riding on a moonless night.

Western Wife This is a tribute to the wives of those who dared move into the unknown territory of the American West. Somehow many survived, some thrived, and some died along the way.

Waltz of the Weeds The tumbleweed, the weed of the west, is also somewhat a weed of mystery. A variety is said to be a native of North America while another variety is said to have “immigrated” as a stowaway in loads of grain received from Europe in the late 1800s. The young plants are even edible and supplanted the pioneer diet. But you’ve seen nothing until you’ve seen the Waltz of the Weeds.

Westerners

We’ve just previewed Westerners, a newly released album of western and cowboy music by Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue (Bruce and Sue Matley of Prescott, Washington). They offer some of their own compositions as well as a generous touch of traditional songs for a total of seventeen tracks.

Their selection of music and their unique renditions make it easy to understand why they are in such great demand on the Northwestern fair circuit, serving up nearly 175 performances in 2009. Fans will love this album which concludes with a thirty-eight second flashback to years of yore as 4-year-old Slim sings his own composition, “Buddy and Me,” and new listeners will certainly become fans.

My own bias leans toward “Border Affair” which is a musical rendition of a poem by a 1940 acquaintance of mine, Charles “Badger” Clark, the classic cowboy poet who was then Poet Laureate of South Dakota. Then, too, my wife and I especially enjoyed “Don’t Fence Me In” which was our junior class theme song in 1944-45. Great stuff!

The tracks are: I Ride the Range the Modern Way, Show Me Mister, Cattle Call, The Cowboy That Made Me Blue, They Call The Wind Mariah, Common Wisdom, Border Affair (Spanish is the Loving Tongue), Don’t Fence Me In, Coyotes, Home to You, The West, I’ve Got Spurs, Waitin’ For Ice Cream, The Ranch That I Can’t See, Happy Trails, and Buddy and Me

The album can be previewed and purchased at CD Baby and there’s more about this dynamic western duo on their website.