(Photo by Robb Kendrick) Say, you can't tell remudas from round-ups, bandanas from wild rags,        or an ol' Texas taco from a classic flat brimmed? Well, gather 'round, buckaroo, for some schoolin' in Old West culture --        We're talkin' 'bout the art of cowboy poetry, friend. No one knows just how it got started, but many an old hand swears        it must have begun 'round a campfire, out on the trail. While one feller would tell a story, another would pass the jug:        They say there's nothin' like whisky to help spin a tale. The only "three Rs" those pokes knew were ridin', ropin', and rangin',         so all them campfire stories had to be learned by rote. And poetry began: Like ancient bards, cowboys used rhyme and verse,       and sometimes they'd even throw in a musical note. Y'all won't find high falutin words in their tales,        just simple love of the land, open spaces, and work. These poetic cow-punches tell tales of brave men and their horses,        of memories of happier days, of love and hurt. City slickers take note: cowboy poets are alive and kickin'.        You're pardoned, pardner, fer thinkin' they're things of the past. From Elko to Arvada they gather each year to spin their yarns.       But you, lucky reader, can listen via podcast. Suggested Sites... National Cowboy Poetry Gathering - contemporary and traditional arts from folks who spend a whole lot of time around cows. CowboyPoetry.com - more cowboy poetry and history than you can get your lasso around. Baxter Black - cowboy poet, and former large-animal veterinarian. Robb Kendrick Photography - tintype photographs of contemporary, working cowboys. Flickr: Cowboy Hats - the hat doesn't make the cowboy.

Directory categories: Cowboy Poetry, Cowboys, Guest Ranches, Rodeo, The Old West

Archived under: American History, Arts, Cowboys and Cowgirls, Festivals, Horses, In Character, Old West, Poetry, The West

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting