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We're pleased to have a regular column about cowboy poetry and Western music collaborations, "Before the Song," in The Western Way, the official publication of the Western Music Association (WMA), published quarterly.

The column also includes a roundup of recent cowboy poetry books and recordings.

Column suggestions and new-release news releases and submissions are welcome: CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco,CA 94133 email.

The complete, current Western Way magazine is available to all for reading on line, at the WMA web site.

Below:

Summer 2008: Robert "Bob" Fletcher and Cole Porter, "Don't Fence Me In"

Spring 2008: Les Buffham and Mike Fleming, "Below the Kinney Rim"

Winter 2008: Don Edwards and Joel Nelson, "Here's Looking at You"

Fall 2007: Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail, and Virginia Bennett's "El Fuego"

Summer 2007: Wylie Gustafson of Wylie & the Wild West and Charles Badger Clark, Jr.'s "To Her"

Spring 2007: Yvonne Hollenbeck and Jean Prescott, winners of the WMA's first Best Collaboration of Poet and Musician Award

The Western Way is sent to WMA members as a benefit of membership. For more about membership and other information, visit the Western Music Association (WMA) web site.

“Oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above, don't fence me in” are words that some Westerners would rank right up there with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in their own declaration of independence.

Recorded by many—from Roy Rogers to David Byrne, with hundreds in between—“Don’t Fence Me In” was written by the unlikely Cole Porter, who was inspired by a poet’s words. Porter is known for his Broadway and Hollywood musicals and his contributions to the era of the “Great American Songbook.”

Porter purchased a poem in 1934 for $250, as the basis of a song for a musical (Adios Argentina) that was never produced. Ten years later, “Don’t Fence Me In” was sung by The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby in the movie Hollywood Canteen, and the following year, by Roy Rogers in the film Don't Fence Me In. The Bing Crosby recording sold over a million copies.

The poem that caught Porter’s attention was “Open Range,” by Montana engineer, writer, poet, and cattleman’s son, Robert "Bob" Fletcher (1885-1972). The poem is included in Fletcher's 1934 book, Corral Dust:

Open Range

Western land was made for those
Who like land wild and free,
For cattle, deer, and buffalo,
For antelope and me;
For those who like a land the way
That it was made by God
Before men thought they could improve
By plowing up the sod.

I want the rivers running clean,
I want a clear, blue sky,
A place to draw a good, deep breath
And live, before I die.
I want the sage, I want the grass,
I want the curlew's call,
And I don't want just half a loaf,—
I've got to have it all.

These cities seem to wear me down
And I can't stand their roar,
They make me have the itching foot
To get back West once more.
I hate the milling herds in town
With all their soot and grime,
I wouldn't trade a western trail
For Broadway any time.

Just give me country big and wide
With benchland, hills and breaks,
With coulees, cactus, buttes and range,
With creeks, and mountain lakes,
Until I cross the Great Divide,
Then, God, forgive each sin
And turn me loose on my cayuse
But please don't fence me in.

Initially, Cole Porter's music publishers did not credit Fletcher as a co-writer. Through legal action, Fletcher's name was eventually added, but not until 1954.

Fletcher knew well of what he wrote, from firsthand knowledge (his father lost all of his cattle along the lower Yellowstone during the harsh winter of 1886-1887), and from the stories he collected from early settlers and others he met while working on engineering projects. Those stories and experiences inspired another notable pursuit.

While working for the Montana Department of Highways, Fletcher came up with the idea for detailed roadside historical markers. A good number of the lively-written markers still stand, including one in Broadus, titled “Big Sky Country,” which displays the lyrics to “Don’t Fence Me In.” The original signs are collected in a 1938 book, Montana's Historical Highway Markers, which has been reprinted several times in expanded editions.

Fletcher wrote other books and pamphlets, including Free Grass to Fences: The Montana Cattle Range Story, published in 1960 and illustrated with Charles M. Russell sketches, L. A. Huffman photos, and additional art and photography.

Many of Fletcher's publications featured the art of his friend, Montana native Irvin "Shorty" Shope (1900-1977), a member of the Cowboy Artists of America. Charlie Russell admired Shope’s work and gave him this advice about studying art "back East": “Don’t do it. The men, horses, and country you love and want to study are out here, not back there.”

Hollywood made “Don’t Fence Me In” famous, but its message came from “out here,” out West, from a poet who had experienced land that was still “wild and free…the way that it was made by God / before men thought they could improve / by plowing up the sod.”

Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup

Following are just some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in recent months:

Books

Somewhere in the West by Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick is the third in a semi-annual chapbook series (Volume 2, No. 2, June 2008). Carrying on the title from her popular collection of stories and poems, the chapbooks’ topics are devoted to “the history of the West and those who played an important role in making it." This volume's feature story, "A Pig’s Tale, Feral Hogs of the Frio Canyon," is accompanied by the poetry of the late Texas Poet Laureate Carlos Ashley and Montana’s DW Groethe. The chapbooks are available for $10.00 postpaid each ($25 for the set of three) from Frontier Books, P.O. Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873; www.lindakirkpatrick.net.

Poems from Dry Creek is John Dofflemyer's tenth collection of poems, all deeply rooted in place, a place where his family has ranched since soon after the California gold rush. A frequent participant at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, he writes in the book's notes, “After forty years of harvesting grass with cattle, what I know most of all are the things I have learned within this watershed, watching for weather harbingers and observing and inspecting intertwined relationships that beg to be personified.” The book is available for $17 postpaid from John Dofflemyer, P.O. Box 44320, Lemon Cove, CA 93244.

Book of Grass is Nebraska rancher and Wayne State University teacher JV Brummels’ fourth collection. The vivid, often close-to-the-bone works are described by poet Paul Zarzyski as “…the gospel of unfenced ground, of the wireless wide-open.” Featured in the past at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Brummels has published a novel and short fiction and edited several anthologies and the literary magazine Nebraska Territory. The book is available for $14 postpaid from Logan House, Route 1, Box 154, Winside, NE 68790; www.loganhousepress.com.

New and Selected Poems by current Texas Poet Laureate Larry D. Thomas is the fourth volume in the Texas A&M University Press Consortium Texas Poets Laureate Series (one of which is past Poet Laureate Red Steagall’s works). The publisher comments, "... Thomas explores the natural world of Texas…the larger-than-life geography, which is the stuff out of which legends are made..." The book is available for $15.95 from the publisher and other book sources; www.larrydthomas.com.

Words Turn Silhouette from fourth-generation Wyoming rancher, writer and poet Echo Klaproth is a compelling, inspirational collection of clear and honest prose and poetry, reflections on her life’s experiences. It is available for $17 postpaid from Sagebrush Echoes, 12233 Hwy 789 #64, Shoshoni, WY 82649; ricknechoR@wyoming.com; 307-857-5811.

Cowboy Poetry Recordings

Lazy SB Poetry by Bob Schild, Idaho poet, saddle maker, and former rodeo champion, includes "poems of humor, heartache and horse sense, based on a life in ranch, rodeo and roughhouse and polished by half a century in cowboy poetry." The CD is available for $18 postpaid from B Bar B Leather, P.O. Box 478, Blackfoot, Idaho 83221; www.bbarbleather.com.

Robert Service in Person; The Bard of the Yukon includes Robert Service reciting "The Spell of the Yukon," "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," and "The Cremation of Sam McGee." The 1948 recordings were discovered by radio broadcaster Gene Kern, who introduces the recordings on the CD and tells how they came to be. (One of the poems is included on the 2008 edition of The BAR-D Roundup from CowboyPoetry.com). The CD is available from www.reason-for-hope.com for $18 postpaid; see CowboyPoetry.com here for a special $10 offer.

Bunkhouse Poems and Tall Tales; Campfire Poems and Twilight Tales; Goin' fer the Mail; Holiday Poems; Waco Walmsley, Cowboy Curmudgeon; and What Was it Like Back Then are Nevada poet Hal Swift’s six CDs of themed poetry. Each is available for $10 postpaid from Hal Swift at: 632 #1 Pine Meadows Drive, Sparks, NV 89431.

Mixed Cowboy Poetry and Western Music Recordings

The Golden Spike Festival compilation CD includes cowboy poetry and Western music by artists who took part in the May, 2008 event. Included are tracks by Don Kennington, Jan Erickson, Bob Christensen, STAMPEDE!, Bob Urry, Blue Sage, Stan Tixier, Richard Olsen, Sam DeLeeuw, Latigo, Jo Lynne Kirkwood, Coyotee Moon, Fall River Boys, Robin Arnold, Kortnee Urry, Saddlestrings, Jerry Brooks, Matt Urry, Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail, Smoke Wade, and Phil Kennington. The CD is available for $12 postpaid from Vaneta Stephens, Enable Industries Inc., 2640 Industrial Drive, Ogden, UT 84401.

Passin’ it On from Canadian poet and songwriter Mag Mawhinney is, in her description, “an expression of my western roots and experiences I’ve had along the trail.” Original poetry (27 tracks) is accompanied by four original songs performed by award-winning singer and co-writer, Abe Zacharias. The CD is available for $20 postpaid from Mag Mawhinney, 835 Chapman Rd., Cobble Hill, B.C., Canada V0R 1L4; www.magmawhinney.com.

Old Cowboys Never Die by Steven Spalding is a CD of country gospel music and cowboy poetry of faith and humor. Spalding, a country pastor and family therapist, earned three CMA award nominations in 1979 for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist, and Single Record of the Year. The CD is available for $17 postpaid from Circle S Ministry, 25569 Highway 32, Lebanon, MO 65536; www.circlesministries.org.

The Canyons of My Heart from Arizona poet, songwriter, and singer Sally Harper Bates includes 14 new cowboy songs, 3 gospel songs, and 8 poems. She comments, "Most of the songs are family history or stories about friends and personal incidents. Canyons of My Heart seems to hold what has been hidden in the canyons of my heart until it found its way into this album." The CD is available for $18.85 postpaid from Sally Bates, P.O. Box 2814, Chino Valley AZ 86323.

The Storyteller from Australian poet and award-winning balladeer Merv Webster includes ballads, cowboy poetry and bush verse. He comments on this sixth album, “This collection of poems and songs reflect the laughter and tears of life today.” It is available for $25 (AUS) postpaid from Merv Webster; www.users.tpg.com.au/thegrey.

To borrow a phrase: "'Covering' is the sincerest form of flattery." Les Buffham and Michael Fleming have certainly been flattered by the number of people who have covered their song, "Below the Kinney Rim," including New West, Craig Chambers, Belinda Gail, Butch Falk, George Dickey, Trails and Rails, STAMPEDE!, and others. "Below the Kinney Rim" received the Western Music Association's 1997 "Song of the Year" award and the Academy of Western Artists’ 1998 “Song of the Year” award.

Les Buffham has received numerous other awards and tributes, and is the current WMA Male Poet of the Year. That poetic talent has led him to many collaborations with other top songwriters and singers. His recent album, Writes & Co-Writes, showcases the results with selections such as "Spin That Pony" (Dave Stamey), "Queen of Diamonds" (Jean Prescott), "Eyes of a Windmill Man" (Kip Calahan), "Woman of the Wind" (the late Paul Hendel), "Amigo" (Belinda Gail), and others.

Michael Fleming, one of today's most respected songwriters, is known for his incisive, innovative compositions. He's a popular performer, most recently associated with the group, New West, and just back from solo performances at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Mike's songwriting has earned him awards from the Western Music Association and the Academy of Western Artists. He also heads the annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival.

Conversations with Les and Mike uncovered some of the unique ingredients that account for their success in collaborating in general, and for the popularity of "Below the Kinney Rim" in particular. Since both are articulate and engaging storytellers, it's a pleasure to let them tell their own stories.

Les describes what inspired the piece: "'Below the Kinney Rim' was conceived in 1993 when I was traveling to Montana to see my daughter and my first grandchild. I had just left the old ranch in Colorado where I grew up. I'd stopped for a visit with my aunt and uncle, who were running the ranch at that time.

"I was passing through Wyoming, headed north on Highway 430, about ten miles past the Colorado line, when I noticed a high mesa far to the east. Immediately, I knew it was the Kinney Rim, and it began to bring back memories. One in particular was from when I was about five, on a trip to Wyoming with my parents and Uncle Kirk.

"My uncle was getting up in years and had a severe hearing problem and he spoke rather loudly at times. He had been gazing intently out the passenger window when he suddenly raised himself up over the front seat, pointed to the east and declared to my folks, 'There's the Kinney Rim!' Well, I went to lookin' for it, but when Mom and Dad didn't pay him any attention, he reared up over the seat and this time he really bellered it out, 'THERE'S THE KINNEY RIM!' I don't know why but that sure struck me funny and I had a laughin' fit.

"That's what I was remembering that day some fifty years later. Then I began to wonder what my uncle, who had been quite a wild horse runner in his day, would think if he could see that range, now devoid of the wild horses it had held some years before. My Dad told me stories about how Kirk would strike out with salt and pepper and rice and beans and get on the trail of those wild ones and stay with them for days. He would rope a few, hobble them, or tie them to a tree if there was one available. After he had captured what he figured he could handle, he would back track and pick them up.

"I let those words, 'the Kinney Rim,' roll off of my tongue a few times. I liked the ring of them and began to put the lyrics together. The next spring, I showed them to Mike Fleming. He grabbed on to them and the rest is history."

Mike Fleming met Les at a California music festival in the early 1990s. Mike tells, "At that point I hadn't been collaborating with anyone, but I immediately liked his poetry and afterward made a point of speaking with him. We decided to get together and exchange ideas. It proved to be a great writing partnership.”

Mike has collaborated with others, but tends to be a solitary writer. He says, "I tend to lock myself in an emotional room and write alone, but Les is one person I feel comfortable working with. In later collaborations, I would write melodies and partial lyrics and Les would come in and finish the ideas, many times put the winning touch to the lyrics. In retrospect, I think we did some good work together and I'm proud of it.

"Les is humble enough to allow the songwriter to change or edit his words. That's not an easy thing to do. He also has a gift for storytelling that is hard to match. He knows poetic structure. He writes in a conversational style that lends well to songs. I've always felt that song lyrics should be conversational. You should be able to speak them and have them flow naturally.

"Another talent Les has is something I've always tried to achieve, and that's economy of words. With songwriting, it's important to leave a little room for the listener to fill in the blanks. You don't necessarily have to give every detail. You can paint in broad strokes and let the music and the listener's imagination complete the story."

"Below the Kinney Rim" has a chicken-and-egg aspect. Which came first, the poem or the song? Mike Fleming says that it was a complete poem when Les first brought it to him. He comments, "There were very few actual changes. When I write melodies I tend to follow a musical pattern, stretch it, and see how it comes out on the other end. With 'Below the Kinney Rim,' I just flipped some phrases to fit the melody I was creating, especially in the last two lines of the chorus, which took it out of rhyme and meter, but worked. Sometimes you get lucky."

Les says that he conceived the words as a song, and after Mike set it to music he began to think of it also as a piece to be performed as a poem. He has recorded it in that form on his album of the same name, Below the Kinney Rim (produced by Dave Stamey). Each singer who has covered the song has his own interpretation, and the lyrics have the expected, slight variations across renditions.

Below is the version that Les Buffham performs as a poem. The captivating story, the poem's careful crafting, and the economy of words confirm Michael Fleming's comments about Les Buffham's talents, and the powerful poem makes clear the reasons for the popularity of the award-winning, often-covered piece.

Below the Kinney Rim

Hey Sam, do you remember a long time ago
when we rode together where the Wyomin' winds blow
set high on a ridge top, there just you and me
and watched the wild horses that were runnin' free

When it was jerky and coffee about half alkali
and a biscuit or two that we downed on the fly
Oh that old mustang fever sure ran in our veins
and it seemed liked the devil was a-holdin' the reins

Now I'm chasin' old memories o'er trails that's grown dim
through the cedars and piñons below that old Kinney Rim
when it was just you and me and them mustangs
there in the blue shadows below that old Kinney Rim.

We'd rope them old broomies and hobble them fast
and then back on the trail until the very last
of our daylight had faded and then bed on the ground
get up before daybreak, and go one more round

Now Sam them old ponies are just about gone
there's a few left like us that are still holdin' on
One of these days well they'll catch the last one
I reckon by then we'll have finished our run.

And it'll just be those memories and trails grown dim
through the cedars and piñons below that old Kinney Rim
where it was just you and me and them mustangs
there in the blue shadows below that old Kinney Rim

© 1993, Les Buffham, All rights reserved

Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup

Following are just some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in recent months:

Recordings

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three is the latest annual compilation of classic and contemporary cowboy poetry issued by CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. There are 26 tracks by today’s top poets and reciters, along with vintage classics by the late Buck Ramsey and by Robert Service (a rare 1948 recording of his “The Cremation of Sam McGee”). The CD goes to libraries in the Center’s outreach Rural Library Project as a part of Cowboy Poetry Week activities. The CD is available for $20 postpaid from CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133; www.cowboypoetry.com.

Rimrock—Where Memories Rhyme is Utah poet and rancher Paul Kern’s “hopelessly romantic cowboy poetry.” The serious and humorous autobiographical poems are arranged starting with his earliest memories on horseback, and accompanied by music performed by Shaun Harris Studios, with Crawford Gates’ arrangement of "As Evening Sets on the Yellowstone" sung by Cliff Cole. The CD is available for $12 plus postage; www.paulkern.com.

Blazin’ Bloats & Cows on FIRE! is a double-CD set from America's best-known cowboy poet, Baxter Black. Filled with cowboy poetry and tall tales—some taken from his book by the same name and some never-before-recorded Baxter Black classics—the publisher notes, “The title should give you a clue that it's not about the lonesome pine, the Red River Valley or the cattle call, unless they are on fire, flooded or stampeding like lemmings!” The CD is available for $24.95 plus postage; www.baxterblack.com.

Poems from the Porch Swing from Texas poet Bob Upchurch is described as "country poetry with a spiritual twist." Bits of wisdom, "more truth than poetry," are sprinkled between the ten original poems. The CD, recorded and produced by Waynetta Ausmus, is available for $15 postpaid from Bob Upchurch, 2288 County Road 2998, Windom, Texas 75492; www.boisdarcacres.com.

Books

Somewhere in the West by Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick is the second in a semi-annual chapbook series (Volume 2, No. 1, January 2008). Carrying on the title from her award-winning collection of stories and poems, the chapbooks’ topics “ are devoted to the history of the West and those who played an important role in making it," This volume includes a feature story, "The Mysterious Yellow Rose of Texas," which explores the history of the famous song and its place in Texas history, with engravings and a bibliography. The chapbook is available for $7.00 postpaid each from Linda Kirkpatrick at Frontier Books, P.O. Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873; www.lindakirkpatrick.net.

My Father’s Horses by Montana ranch hand, poet, songwriter, and singer DW Groethe is a chapbook collection of 30 recent poems A frequent participant at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, he has performed his poetry and songs at events across the West, and at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. His previous book, West River Waltz, received the Will Rogers Medallion Award. The chapbook is available for $15 postpaid from D. W. Groethe, PO Box 144, Bainville, MT 59212; 406/769-2312; www.cowboypoetry.com/dwgroethe.htm.

Tracks That Won’t Blow Out, the collected poetry of the late, respected poet Ray Owens (1934-2007) also includes illustrations and photographs. Poets Rolf Flake, Red Steagall, and Joel Nelson add their endorsements for their friend Ray Owens' work. The book is available for $25 plus postage by mail from Verna Owens, 1305 E. Castleberry Road, Artesia, NM 88210; or phone 575-746-3694; or on line from www.cowboyminer.com.

It's hot.

In their sizzling electric performances of "El Fuego," Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail ignite the passion of poet Virginia Bennett's poetry. The result of this collaboration goes beyond words, music, and instruments. Listeners experience something intense, and "other-worldly," as they are held under the spell of stunningly powerful and skillful instrumentals and forcefully delivered lyrics. Steamy words are set afire.

A great collaboration between a poet and a songwriter transcends "art" and "craft," and the best go beyond a good combination of story and talent. In the case of "El Fuego," the exceptional result was blessed by the writers' special bonds of friendship and respect for each other's work. And, there was another ingredient: an inexplicable magic.

Poet Virginia Bennett and songwriter Curly Musgrave reveal some of the magic and their friendship as they comment on their collaboration that resulted in the heralded song, which is nominated by the Western Music Association in 2007 as the Best Collaboration Between a Poet and Musician.

Noted writer and horsewoman Virginia Bennett tells how she wrote the poem some years ago while working on a ranch in Twisp, Washington. She explains, "I listened to a recording of passionate music from a Mexican guitar. The music seemed to pulse through my pen as I wrote. Easily recognizable in the back of my mind somewhere was my childhood dream horse, "Fury"...It didn't take much to imagine a mare who would be his equal. Not a mare who would bend to his will, but one who also demanded that her own desires 'would not be denied.'"

She adds, "I always wanted a true musician to try and find a song within these lyrics. I played and sang this song for years as something slow, sexy, with simple music, 3/4 time and two chords. Possibly seven years after I wrote 'El Fuego,' I thought of my friend Curly Musgrave and his ability to create intellectual music, his grace with the Spanish language, and his partnership with Belinda Gail. For if anyone is perfect to play and sing the part of the palomino mare, 'La Luz de Oro,' it is Belinda."

Here's Virginia Bennett's original poem:

EL FUEGO

Each night he comes to the ridgetop
     Overlooking the rancho below.
Sparks fly from his hooves, dark and flashing,
     And lightning reflects in the blaze of his coat.

The hot wind carries his summons
     To the mare of the wife of the rancho's patron.
With wild eyes, she paces the fenceline
     As her answers ring off that rocky caňon.

He's on fire, and the Mexican sunset
     Gleams in the sweat of his chestnut hide.
Ann they call him El Fuego de Sonora.
     For they know his desires will not be denied.

His sire escaped Pancho Villa
     And his dam once served in Zapata's band.
He was born on el Cinco de Mayo
     Never once has he known man's cruel, iron brand.

And the mare of the wealthy Seňora
     Has won all the races down Fiesta's lanes
Warhorses of the conquistadores,
     Their blood courses through her hot, royal veins.

She's on fire, and the Mexican sunrise
     Gleams in the sweat of her golden hide
And they call her La Luz de Oro
     For they know her desires will not be denied.

On the eve of the summer solstice
     El Fuego calls to that palomino mare.
And she flies to obey his every command
      No corral on earth could hold her down there.

Now, on cool nights, out on the desert,
     He races the wind with the mare at his side.
With blood-soaked flanks, their teeth slashing,
     They're out there tonight for the angels to ride.

They're on fire, and the Mexican sunset
     Gleams in the sweat of his chestnut hide.
And they call him El Fuego de Sonora
     For they know his desires will not be denied.

© Virginia Bennett, All rights reserved

Curly Musgrave shares his experience in working with Virginia Bennett's words and comments on the resulting song being "... a wonderful model of what poet/musician/performer collaborations are capable of.”

He comments, “ There are certainly other models around, but I think 'El Fuego' is as good as any. An intriguing notion for me to entertain is that neither of us, individually, could have produced the sum total of what the song is. Like Virginia said, she'd played it with her melody for a few years...I've written some good songs with good melodies and performed them...Belinda and I have had some dynamic songs to sing and been recognized for that...

"I had a sense of the potential when Virginia sent me the poem but wasn't sure if I was the one to pull it off. I put something together at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko for her to hear as a starting point (with me singing as El Fuego) and she liked it, but even as I read the poem, Belinda came to mind as an embodiment of the mare and I knew we could do something impressive with it, but again wasn't sure what the evolution would look like. With a minor tweak or two, the poem was set up as the personification of El Fuego and La Luz De Oro and it just fell into place.

"Both Belinda and I busted our butts with our respective guitar parts in live performance, but putting that 'sweat' into it, brings the musical passion the horses inspire. I think Virginia might have been a bit concerned that the personification might put it 'over the top' for some listeners, but when she heard it, I think those concerns disappeared and it evolved into what it is, a phenomenally passionate and articulate piece."

In an essay, "Fine Lines," at CowboyPoetry.com, respected poet and writer Rod Miller comments that the poem "...demonstrates its writer’s expertise with sensuousness...Virginia Bennett forces you to fan yourself to ward off the heat, squint in the glare of the searing light, even wrinkle your nose at the stench of sizzling sulphur..."

Curly comments, "If it were just my own composition and performance, I certainly wouldn't put the words, 'Western masterpiece' to it, but as the collaboration it has become—in my view as a life-long songwriter—it lays down about as well as a song can, from its inspired poem through the music and the performance. I'm so delighted and proud to be connected to it and honored that Virginia would entrust me with her wonderful poem. She certainly deserves to be recognized for her work with it as well as for the body of work she has contributed to the genre. I think history will see it, and her, as very significant."

An American Cowboy magazine CD review by Mark Bedor pronounced “El Fuego” a "standout." "El Fuego" is on Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail's  Red Rock Moon CD ($17 postpaid from Curly J. Productions, PO Box 512, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352). "El Fuego" is in Virginia Bennett's most recent poetry collection, In the Company of Horses ($18.95 postpaid from Virginia Bennett, PO Box 268, Goldendale, WA 98620).

Read more about Virginia Bennett and Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail at CowboyPoetry.com (see links below).

Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup

Following are some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in past months:

Recordings

To Be a Top Hand from Georgie Sicking, cowboy (a term she prefers), rancher, poet, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee, and Western treasure, includes fifteen of her original poems, and Gail I. Gardner's classic, "Moonshine Steer." Now 86, Georgie Sicking was invited to the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and returns there in 2008, having made many appearances in between. The CD, produced and recorded by Andy Nelson, is available for $18 postpaid from Georgie Sicking, PO Box 11, Kaycee, WY 82639.

Make Me a Cowboy Again for a Day from poet, traditional reciter, and storyteller Ross Knox' includes classics and his original poetry, an impressive showcase of the best of his enormous repertoire. Cowboy, farrier, and mule packer Ross Knox was an invited performer to the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985, has been featured over twenty times since, and returns there in 2008. The CD is available from Ross Knox, 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730 520-260-9121.

Montana Legacy by Sandy Seaton includes 13 original poems, some accompanied by her vocals. She has cowboyed, driven four-up stagecoaches in Yellowstone, and now she and her husband run a wilderness and ranch outfitting business and raise and train hound dogs, horses, and mules. Sandy has been an invited to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering many times and will return in 2008. The CD is available for $17 postpaid from: Sandy Seaton, P.O. Box 117, Emigrant, MT 59027; (406) 222-7455; www.blackmountainoutfitters.com

Spreadin’ Sunshine from popular Utah poet Brenda “Sam” De Leeuw includes 16 original poems. The CD's photography is by Lori Faith Merritt. Sam is nominated in 2007 as Best Female Poet by the Western Music Association. The CD is available for $18 postpaid from Sam DeLeeuw, 510 West 500 South, Manti, Utah 84642; 435-835-8662.

A Country Kid Looks Back by Monty Moncrief Teel includes his recitation of poetry co-written by James Terry. An additional CD by the same name includes the soundtrack from the poetry CD, which includes top musicians Dave Alexander, Ginny Mac, Devon Dawson, and others. Each CD is available for $20 postpaid from Monty Moncrief Teel, PO Box 992, Euless, TX 76039.

Books

Somewhere in the West, by Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick is the first in a series of semi-annual chapbooks "dedicated to the history of the West." Each includes a feature story accompanied by a bibliography and vintage photos; original and classic poetry, and a list of rare, old, and out-of-print books and more available from her Frontier Book Store. Linda Kirkpatrick makes her first invited appearance at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2008. The chapbook is available for $7.00 postpaid from Linda Kirkpatrick at Frontier Books, P.O. Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873.

There…Just Over the Ridge from poet Byrd Woodward includes 18 original poems, most inspired by the Idaho cow ranch where she grew up, and from the stories of her parents and their pioneering forebears. The chapbook is available for $8.00 postpaid from Byrd Woodward, 17412 Bob White Rd., Mayer, AZ 86333.

Cowboy Dust from Jack Griner includes poetry that is "...a city boy's rendition with a cowboy's point of view" about his experiences as a young man doing farm and ranch work in Iowa and South Dakota. The book is available for $17.99 plus postage from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Incomplete Works of Woody Woodruff, World-Wide Unknown Poet from Woody Woodruff includes over 20 original poems, and a poem from the family's next generation of writers, his granddaughter Alexia Woodruff. In 2005, Woody was named Cowboy Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists. The book is available for $14.95 postpaid from Woody Woodruff, 983 Pike Lane, Centerville, TN 37033.