Rider's block?

You know, this Cowboy Poetry thing ain't as easy as it looks. Especially for a guy who's not a real Cowboy.

::ahem::

Or a real poet.

Fear not. I shall press on. I promise you I will have a Cowboy poem I am happy enough with to post up here. Eventually.

A question

So, what do y'all think? Should li'l' ol' me try his hand at this cowboy poetry thang?

The 15th annual Bison Communities Festival of the West takes place March 17-20, 2005 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Entertainment will include Cowboy Poetry readings and Telling of Tall Tales.

The Test

by Cactus Jack McCarty

© 1996-All rights reserved E-mail Cactus Jack!

Little fish look big in a mighty small pond
And the moon looks bright 'til the sun gits dawn'd.
He got the cows all work'd, thinks it went jus' fine;
In the picture of a Hand he wouldn't make one line.

If a Hand's been train'd, 'round enuf to know
Don't learn much "cowboy" in a rodeo
Or dodgin' sprinklers 'n' a hot-wire fence.
The Culture's been lost there, makes no sense.

If he's had the benefits of regimentation,
Right upbringin' 'n' proper instruction,
'Twill affect his dress, shines in his eye,
But the proof is in his where and why.

Dropp'd off in a place where he's never been,
A-workin' with folks he's never seen,
He'll ride a hoss that he's never rode
To handle cows he's never know'd,

The Hand will always come out right,
Still hold his position in the dark or light.
He'll be out of the way in a ready stance,
But he'll be where you need him at every chance.

You can paint the wall, but what's inside
Will soon come out, it just can't hide.
A "wanna-be's" really no less of a man,
Jes' not a cowboy if he can't make a Hand.

partially inspired by a conversation with Frank Winters, a Hand., while doin' our Fall Works'96.

from agricomm.com

Ignore this entry

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Confusion resolved

 

Ok. I think I've got it straight. The 21st National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, sponsored by The Western Folklife Center, takes place January 22-29, 2005. The Official National Cowboy Poetry Week, recognised by the US government, is in April, which is National Poetry Month. In 2005, National Cowboy Poetry Week will be observed April 17-23.

What is Cowboy Poetry?

Cowboy poetry is rhymed, metered verse written by someone who has lived a significant portion of his or her life in Western North American cattle culture. The verse reflects an intimate knowledge of that way of life, and the community from which it maintains itself in tradition. Cowboy poetry may or may not in fact be anonymous in authorship but must have qualities, content, and style that permit it to be accepted into the repertoire of the cultural community as reflecting that community's aesthetics in style, form, and content. The structural style of cowboy poetry has its antecedents in the ballad style of England and the Appalachian South. It is similar to popular works of authors such as Robert W. Service and Rudyard Kipling.

  At least that appears to be the opinion of former Montana State Folklorist Mike Korn, who wrote those words as a working definition of cowboy poetry for the first Western Folklife Center National Poetry Gathering in 1985. In the twenty years since then, the question, "what is cowboy poetry?" has been the source of endless discussion, and even argument. Much of that discussion has been summarized at CowboyPoetry.com, on their What is Cowboy Poetry page. I recommend it to you as an interesting jumping off point in any investigation of the genre.

Gathering info

The 13th Annual Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering

The 13th Annual Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering
will be held February 4 through 6, 2005 in the
Buena Performing Arts Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

In its 13th year in 2005, the Gathering is a premier event featuring three days of performances by more than forty poets and musicians in a variety of different venues: there will be three headline stage performances, a full day of simultaneous thematic programs, late-night jam sessions and more.

Click link for more details

A Cowboy poem

God Bless The Buckaroo

Date confusion

Hmmmm. I was told that National Cowboy Poetry week was January 22-29, 2005. The cowboypoetry.com website lists it as being April 17-23, 2005. A little more investigation may be necessary.

a good read

a good read