Featured: New in 2008 Books, music, and more Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch www.CowboyPoetry.com

A Prairie Prayer is a new collection of poems from North Dakota rancher and writer Bruce Roseland, whose previous book, The Last Buffalo, received the Wrangler award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City for “outstanding poetry book of 2006.”

He comments “My publisher subtitled this book "A Sequel to The Last Buffalo," and it is, indeed, a continuation of the material contained in my first book because I am still compelled to record the experiences with and observations about living on, and making a living from, this land that some view as desolate. I, however, see much of beauty and value all around me, and I’m convinced this way of life should be preserved in writing precisely because it sadly, may soon die out and fade from memory.”

Read selections and find the table of contents here in our feature about Bruce Roseland.

A Prairie Prayer is available for $12 from the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies at the North Dakota State University in Fargo, where you can order by mail or phone 701-231-8338. The book is also available online at Barnes & Noble.com.

Posted 12/3

The widely-read poetry journal, RATTLE, "celebrates the poetry of the Western range" in its Winter, 2008 issue, with work by 24 cowboy and Western poets. Among those included are J.V. Brummels, Thea Gavin, D.W. Groethe, Al "Doc" Mehl, Rod Miller, Red Shuttleworth, Jeff Streeby, Larry D. Thomas, and Paul Zarzyski. The feature includes illustrations by Ciara Shuttleworth; the cover illustration, "Long Day," is by Mike Callahan.

Rod Miller contributes a far-reaching and provocative essay, "A Brief Introduction to Cowboy Poetry, or, Who's the Guy in the Big Hat and What is He Talking About?," which includes history of the genre and commentary on contemporary cowboy and Western poetry. He steps into the free verse fray, "So, when a Great Basin buckaroo like Rod McQueary, an experienced rodeo hand like Paul Zarzyski, a ranch woman like Linda Hasselstrom, or a ranch hand like DW Groethe chooses to describe cowboy life in words that don't rhyme (or meter) it's difficult to argue convincingly that what they're doing isn't cowboy poetry." He continues with the comment that "...cowboy poetry doesn't end with 'cowboy' poems....Which brings us back to Zarzyski, who has written about racism and the Holocaust. Wallace McRae has made poems about environmentalism and strip mining, Rod McQueary about war, DW Groethe about romantic spiritual connections, Doris Daley about answering machines and acronyms, Pat Richardson about ducks..."

The issue also includes Alan Fox' conversation with three-term Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. Among other subjects, Pinksy talks about writing and listening to poetry, the Favorite Poem Project (www.favoritepoem.org) he founded (the inspiration for our Favorite Western and Cowboy Poem Project), intellectual property rights, and how editors choose poems for publications: "...you pretty much inevitably are making mistakes; some of those people who think you have blundered are right...Sometimes something remarkable and distinguished will escape your notice. Sometimes you'll be fooled by something that looks good but is really just plausible. That's the nature of the process."

RATTLE's Winter, 2008 issue includes an additional Alan Fox conversation, with Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, 60 pages of open poetry, and the 11 winning poems from the 2008 Rattle Poetry Prize.

RATTLE publishes print issues each June and December, with 200 pages of poetry and essays, plus two interviews with contemporary poets. Electronic supplements in March and September are available as free PDF downloads, and there is a free e-newsletter. The RATTLE web site includes poetry, news and reviews.

The Winter, 2008 issue is available for $10, and is included in a subscription to RATTLE. Read more about the issue here and find order information at the RATTLE web site.

Posted 12/1

Nebraska rancher and writer Willard Hollopeter has a new book, Lost Trails. He describes the book, "108 pages of original poetry, some humorous, some serious and some tear jerkin' sad. And factual stories. Some about wrecks, which weren't near as funny at the time of their happening. It has photos, some really old to go along with the 'Lost Trails' title, and some cartoon-type drawings."

The book includes historical and family photos (the cover photo is of Willard Hollopeter's grandfather and uncle) and illustrations by David Dorsey.

Read some of Willard Hollopeter's poetry here.

Lost Trails is available for $15.00 plus $2.00 postage from: Willard Hollopeter, HC 68 Box 13 Wood Lake, NE 69221.

Posted 10/3

Baxter Black, top cowboy poet and humorist, describes his new book, The World According To Baxter Black: Quips, Quirks, & Quotes, as "...a collection of mental pictures, slippery alliterations, verbal hors d’oeuvres and a trail of broken consonants that may miss the point, but still lead you on to the next page." From the official description:

This brand new 156 page hardcover book from Baxter is a crossbred collection of cowboy slight of hand, humor, and perspective. It’s filled with Baxter’s vaguely skewed philosophical observations, and heavily embellished with authentic cowboy cartoons by A-10! Start your day with laughter, as you read Baxter’s view on Golf, Punkin Roller Rodeos, Canine Time or Pestilence to name a few! Perfect for a quick shot of cowboy hilarity anytime!

Thoughts as deep as a boot heel in the mud, as handy as pockets in your underwear, and poignant as foxtail in a dog’s ear. Does horseradish make fishes eyes water? Why do dogs roll in horse manure? And, why don’t cows have prehensile lips?

This little book will come short of making you think profound thoughts, and that’s not bad when you’re texting.

The enticing cover is illustrated by Becky Harvey, and inside are illustrations by top cowboy cartoonist "A-10" Etienne Etcheverry.

The World According To Baxter Black: Quips, Quirks, & Quotes is available for $19.95 plus shipping from Baxter Black's web site, Amazon, and other booksellers.

Posted 8/20

JV Brummels' Book of Grass, a satisfying collection of his unique, vivid poems, earns praise from impressive quarters.

William Kloefkorn writes in the foreword, "... at heart Brummels is a rancher, and he is; but at heart he is also a gypsy who cannot resist the urge to go beyond that place he has sunk his roots so deeply into—“to find where / in the journey / the adventure is.” And I’d add that he is a clear-eyed realist, and a teacher, one who lives not only in the classroom and on the land, but who is likewise of them. Alongside his students he is a learner, and the boots he wears more often than not have manure on them. His language derives from both the muck and the sweet clover he walks through..."

Poet Paul Zarzyski comments, "The sonorous essence of rural America, Jim Brummels’ storytelling voice elucidates, once and for all, 'that the wild/geography we long to learn always lies just within.' And if we’re fortunate enough to locate it, like, say, finding dynamite 'by match-light in the shed,' we’ll realize that it’s comprised of an almost infinite diversity of landscapes and landmarks. Book of Grass (call it 'cowboy poetry' and/or call it 'cosmos poetry') guides us, moves us, physically, emotionally, spiritually—east, west, north, south, outward and, especially 'within'—through country we’ve seldom, if ever, covered. In short, we’re talking the gospel of unfenced ground, of the wireless wide-open. Jim’s poems speak truth into all lives, into all deaths, into every deep belief in the hereafter."

Read more about about JV Brummels and his poetry in our feature here.

Book of Grass is available for $14 postpaid from www.loganhousepress.com, Amazon, and by mail: Logan House, Route 1, Box 154, Winside, NE 68790.

Posted 8/12

Jonah, a collaboration between cowboy poet Andy Nelson and photographer Nikki Mann, offers readers a vast and engaging perspective on a part of the American working West—a place where the past and present converge in a microcosm of pertinence—through impressive and complementary images and words. The Jonah Infill Drilling Project, taking its name from geographic features (Jonah Gulch, Jonah Ridge, and Jonah Reservoir), is natural gas drilling site in south-central Sublette County, Wyoming. From the book's description:

From cowboy poet Andy Nelson and photographer Nikki Mann comes a unique look into a small section of desert in western Wyoming called the Jonah Field. Jonah documents an area where wildlife, ranching, history and industry all come together. Sometimes they coexist in peace, sometimes they don't; sometimes one aspect benefits another, and sometimes it doesn't.

Jonah is a stunning photographic chronicle of an ever-changing landscape and a poignant poetic insight to an ever-changing heritage.

Nikki Mann—photographer, journalist, horsepacker, farrier, and field biologist—writes that "The idea for this book began while driving one of the hundreds of roads in Jonah. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a cowboy come riding up from behind the truck. He was looking for some lost cows, in the same manner that cowboys have been looking for lost cows in Jonah and the surrounding landscape for generations...Jonah was once a sea where Alligatoroids swam 40 million years ago. It was a place where prehistoric people hunted with arrowheads, where cattle roamed without fences and is now where natural gas is drilled from beneath the surface to heat homes around the West."

In addition to its photography and poetry, the book includes historic and geographic information, a "roughneck glossary," and a "cowboy dictionary."

Read more about Andy Nelson and read some of his poetry in our feature here.

Jonah is available for $38 postpaid from Andy Nelson, PO Box 1547, Pinedale WY 82941; (307) 367-2842; www.cowpokepoet.com/publications.html.

Updated 7/31

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, her chapbooks’ topics are devoted to “the history of the West and those who played an important role in making it."

The latest 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, photos, historical information, interesting recipes, and colorful tales of "hog hunters" of Real County. The cover incorporates the art of Pat Richardson.

The previous chapbook's feature story is "The Mysterious Yellow Rose of Texas," an exploration of the history of the famous song and its place in Texas history. Engrossing biographies of several important figures accompany versions of lyrics (including the first-known, circa 1835), along with engravings and a bibliography.

The feature story for the premiere volume is "Conflict in the Frio Canyon; The Incident at the McLaurin Ranch," accompanied by a bibliography and vintage photos; her poem, "Conflict in the Frio Canyon"; and classic poetry by Bruce Kiskaddon, "Graves by the Side of the Trail."

The chapbooks, in authentic vintage style, also include a list of rare, old, and out-of-print books and more available from her Frontier Book Store. 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.

Posted 7/14

Cowboy Miner Productions has announced the publication of the poetry of respected poet Ray Owens (1934-2007), Tracks That Won't Blow Out. The 248-page hardcover book also includes illustrations and photographs. Rolf Flake, Red Steagall, Joel Nelson, add their endorsements for Ray Owens' work. Red Steagall comments, "In this presentation, Ray brings us a picture of a young man's pride in 'The
Saddle His Granddaddy Rode,' the goodness of heart in 'Good Sam Mary,' and the pride of accomplishment in 'A Tour Around The Homeplace.'"

(This release was announced earlier this year, but there was a publication delay.)

Read some of Ray Owens' poetry in our feature here.

Tracks That Won't Blow Out is available for $30 postpaid by mail from Verna Owens, 1305 E. Castleberry Road, Artesia, NM 88210; or phone 575-746-3694; or here on line from www.cowboyminer.com.

Posted 6/17

California's Janice Gilbertson has a gem of a new collection of poems, Sometimes, in the Lucias. Finely crafted— inside and out—the poetry resonates with a deep sense of place, of the Santa Lucia mountains that she calls home.

Poet, author, and editor Rod Miller comments on the book, "Lots of cowboy poems, even good ones, come across as the observations of the poet—and outside-looking-in view of the subject. Janice Gilbertson's poems are almost the opposite. They seem to grow from within the subject, as if the poem is inside the subject, or is the subject, giving readers a deeper sense of a place, a moment, a feeling..."

Respected poet Virginia Bennett provides a foreword, in which she writes, "These mountains, canyons and cattle trails all harbor secrets worth telling. This land deserves a voice, and that voice belongs, in part, to Janice Gilbertson." Read the entire foreword here, along with the book's table of contents.

The book, which also includes photos and drawings by Janice Gilbertson, is beautifully designed by Betty Rodgers of BK Publications, Eagle, Idaho (designer Vince Pedroia's 2007 book, A Mano).

Janice Gilbertson's work has appeared in print and audio anthologies and in publications, She was an invited performer to the Western Folklife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2004. Read more about Sometimes, in the Lucias here, along with some of Janice Gilbertson's poetry.

Sometimes, in the Lucias is available for $17 postpaid from: Janice Gilbertson, 43345 Canyon Creek Rd., King City, CA 93930; email.

Posted 6/9

The poems in John Dofflemyer's tenth collection, Poems from Dry Creek, are deeply rooted in place, a place where his family has ranched since soon after the California gold rush. 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.

Poet Gary Snyder (recent recipient of the Poetry Foundation's Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize) comments on Poems From Dry Creek, "...a diverse set of poems really, political, personal, historical, in the moment. Reminding me again it's not that there need be a 'cowboy' poetry but, as we move toward it, a poetry of work and daily life and the land..."

The book includes new and selected poems, including some that have been published in John Dofflemyer's engaging blog, Dry Crik Journal, Perspectives from the Ranch, hosted on the Western Folkife Center web site. In that blog, regular posts follow his work and daily life and include poetry, commentary, and observations. Robin Dofflemyer's photography is found throughout. "Home" and "John Cutler's Cowboys" on the blog are examples of two of the poems included in Poems from Dry Creek.

John Dofflemyer's Dry Crik Press has published books by Laurie Wagner Buyer, Rod McQueary, Paul Zarzyski, and others, and published the respected journal, Dry Crik Review of Contemporary Cowboy Poetry. A publication for serious writers and readers, Dry Crik Review was published from 1991-1994. See our feature about Dry Crik Review of Contemporary Cowboy Poetry here, which includes an index of all issues. A "lost" issue is published on the Dry Crik Journal blog, which also has a list of available back issues.

Poems from Dry Creek is available for $17 postpaid from John Dofflemyer, P.O. Box 44320, Lemon Cove, CA 93244.

Winner of the Western Heritage Wrangler Award
from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

Posted 5/7

Texas A&M University Press Consortium has published New and Selected Poems by 2008 Texas Poet Laureate Larry D. Thomas, the fourth volume in the TCU Texas Poets Laureate Series.

The publisher comments. "... Thomas explores the natural world of Texas—its animal icons like the Hereford or hawk or rattlesnake, the larger-than-life geography, which is the stuff out of which legends are made..." Read more at the Texas A&M University Press Consortiun web site.

The 96-page book is available for $15.95 from the publisher, Amazon, and other book sources.

Read some of Larry D. Thomas' poetry here at the BAR-D.

Visit Larry D. Thomas' web site, where you can find audio of his work and more about him and his poetry.

Posted 5/5

Montana ranch hand DW Groethe has collected 30 recent poems in a chapbook, My Father's Horses. 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 title poem in My Father's Horses is included on the forthcoming edition of The BAR-D Roundup. The recording is from a session at the 2007 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which you can listen to in a cybercast from the Western Folklife Center (the final "Hooves of the Horses" program).

My Father's Horses is available for $15 postpaid from D. W. Groethe, PO Box 144, Bainville, MT 59212; 406/769-2312.

Posted 2/11

Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick has a new edition of her chapbook, the second in a semi-annual series (Volume 2, No. 1, January 2008). Carrying on the name from her award-winning collection of stories and poems (Cowboy Miner, 2002), the Somewhere in the West chapbooks are published in January and June, and "Topics are devoted to the history of the West and those who played an important role in making it," The most recent 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. Engrossing biographies of several important figures accompany versions of lyrics (including the first-known, circa 1835), engravings, and a bibliography. The chapbook, in authentic vintage style, also includes a list of rare, old, and out-of-print books and more available from her Frontier Book Store.

The feature story for the previous Volume 1, No. 1, was "Conflict in the Frio Canyon; The Incident at the McLaurin Ranch," accompanied by a bibliography and vintage photos; her poem, "Conflict in the Frio Canyon"; and classic poetry by Bruce Kiskaddon, "Graves by the Side of the Trail."