Customer Reviews

Cowboy Poets and Cowboy Poetry

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This varied group of essays is a collection of viewpoints on cowboy poetry by both folklorists and practitioners, many of whom grew up on ranches and know about cowboying from firsthand experience. According to the writers, there have been three periods in which cowboy poetry flourished: the years of the cattle drives in the 1870s-80s, the 1920s-1930s when a great many of these poems were collected and published, and more recently since 1985 with the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Currently, as some of the writers point out, it is a field of folk literature that is burgeoning in both output and popularity. This book is an attempt to bring the varied aspects of this resurgence into focus.

Among the more academic of the writers here, I liked Warren Miller's discussion of how poems like these evolve in an oral tradition and James McNutt's discussion of authenticity vs. the impact of commercialism and tourism. The practitioners are more entertaining and no less informative. Among them I liked Buck Ramsey's discussion of Bull Durham libraries and the prevalence of book-reading among early cowboys, Glenn Ohrlin's story of his life as collector and singer of cowboy songs, and Bill Lowman's description of writing poetry as he runs a ranch. Also interesting are John I. White's account of Montana cowboy poet J. O'Malley. Well known western writer and poet Henry Herbert Knibbs is remembered by Ronna Lee and Tom Sharpe.

Elaine Thatcher and Teresa Jordan write revealing chapters on the emergence of women writers in the tradition. John Dofflemeyer looks at the directions in which cowboy poetry is currently evolving, and western writer William Kittredge closes the book with a heartfelt appreciation of the way of life that cowboy poetry and song represent. Also recommended: Robert McDowell's "Cowboy Poetry Matters."

Stanley and Thatcher's book contains 27 essays written by a variety of contributors including college and university teachers, folklorists, and cowboy poets. Perspectives are historical, literary, and international in scope. Topics include women and cowboy poetry, form and tension in cowboy poetry, Australian bush poetry, oral traditions of the South Texas Mexican American cowboys, traditional and contemporary poetry, poems and songs on the rodeo trail, and the relationship of cowboy song to poetry.

All I can say is that I loved the collection of poetry and information. This is true Americana and should be required in our schools. Good Job!

"Cowboy Poets and Poetry" is as important a compilation of work as the field recordings of early rural musicians. Thank you David Stanley and Elaine Thatcher.
Pam Brown