Most recent email news from www.CowboyPoetry.com Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch

Friends of CowboyPoetry.com,

Come celebrate the ninth annual Cowboy Poetry Week (April 18-24)!

Below there's news about Cowboy Poetry Week, with events from Alaska to Tennessee, recognition by many states' governors, and more; a new (fifth) edition of The BAR-D Roundup" with the best in classic and contemporary cowboy poetry; a great poster by top Western artist Bill Owen, with his painting, "Born to This Land," inspired by poet, songwriter, and past Texas Poet Laureate Red Steagall's poem with the same title; and continual postings of news and features about classic and contemporary cowboy poetry, Western music, Western radio, events, and more.

In our continual news and features postings, you can view vintage and modern photos in "Picture the West"; read regular columns, including Jeri Dobrowski's "Cowboy Jam Session" and "Rick Huff's Best of the West Reviews"; check out the events calendar for a gathering near you; learn about new books and CDs; read about people, organizations, museums, and the latest news of our wide community; and much more.

Find all the latest news here. This newsletter's news is below.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE

In this economy, at CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, we, like all organizations, face financial challenges.

We urgently need your help to continue to bring you all of our programs.

If you visit CowboyPoetry.com often and find news, information, and entertainment; if your poetry, CD, book, news, or gathering have been featured...please show your support, so that we can continue to bring you all of the information that is important to you.

Thanks to all of our supporters for making CowboyPoetry.com and all of the Center's work possible. Continued annual support is essential to programs such as Cowboy Poetry Week, The BAR-D Roundup, the Rural Library Project, and CowboyPoetry.com. CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry exist only through the tax-deductible donations of those who support our work.

Please be one of those generous supporters. Donations of $10 and of $1000 are equally valued.

When you give at the $40 level or higher, you'll receive the 2010 Cowboy Poetry Week poster with Bill Owen's great image. At the $100 level or higher, you'll receive the poster and The BAR-D Roundup:Volume Five CD; the recordings have been called "the audio equivalent of Thorp and Lomax."

There are also banner Sponsorships available, a great way to keep your event, organization, or name on the most-visited pages of CowboyPoetry.com, in front of our two million annual visitors, while you're giving needed support to the Center and its projects.

Please join others and become a supporter or renew your support.

You can make a donation by check or money order, by mail (please use the form here for mail)
or by a secure, on-line credit card payment through PayPal (a PayPal account is not required):

CowboyPoetry.com is a project of The Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, a tax-exempt
non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Act. The Center seeks grants and donations from individuals, corporate entities, foundations, and private sources.

Contributions to the Center are deductible for federal income tax purposes.

The BAR-D Roundup fair market value is $15 and that amount is not deductible as a charitable contribution.
As in all professional journalistic endeavors, no editorial preference is given to financial sponsors or supporters.

Years ago when I first started to write and recite cowboy poetry, friends asked if there was a Cowboy Poetry organization I belonged to, or if not, how did I find out about all of the different gatherings? I didn’t know what to tell them...there were sometimes events in publications or sometimes I learned about gatherings through friends. There was no Cowboy Poetry center as such. When the CowboyPoetry.com website started up, it soon became the center. It is our library, our calendar of events, our cowboy newspaper, our website, and the internet spot that connects poets with each other and with their fans. Through the western memories project, it preserves our western culture. I value it most for the center that it is.
Jane Morton, poet, Colorado Springs, Colorado

"I subscribe to several magazines, including some that have recently 'gone under.' CowboyPoetry.com is there every day, filled with news and information, even better than a magazine (with no irrelevant ads). If its regular readers would donate what they would spend on a magazine subscription to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, I know it would make a critical difference in sustaining CowboyPoetry.com, Cowboy Poetry Week, the Rural Library project, The BAR-D Roundup, and all of the work it does."
Yvonne Hollenbeck, poet and ranch wife, Clearfield, South Dakota

"I donated because I have come to enjoy CowboyPoetry.com and I didn't want to be like those who show up for brandings but are never around when there are bales to buck, waterers to thaw and irrigation ditches to clean."
Tom Nichols, poet and rancher, Corvallis, Oregon

"Our contribution seems a small price to pay to have the whole world of cowboy poetry at your fingertips. We can catch up on all the current events and have an encyclopedia of classic and contemporary poetry all in one bucket. Our contributions have come back to us tenfold."
Sandi and Jay Snider (poet), ranchers, Cyril, Oklahoma

"I'm on a fixed income and don't have much to give, but I use and enjoy CowboyPoetry.com daily. So I send a small monthly donation, which accumulates in a meaningful way over the year. I want to do what I can to keep the things going."
Hal Swift, poet, Sparks, Nevada

Cowboypoetry.com provides a platform and a multitude (and I mean MULTITUDE) of resources for cowboy poets and those who appreciate cowboy poetry... well done and consistently. We all benefit and...hey... there really ain't no free lunch! "Free" is great if you need a "hand up," but even then, you should generally take a "hand up" with the idea that you will help out, when you can, somehow, somewhere along the line, in kind.

Byrl Keith Chadwell, poet, Baker, Oregon

NEWS, FEATURES, POETRY, MUSIC, REPORTS, AND MORE

These links below take you right to popular features and news
at CowboyPoetry.com:

NEWS
POEMS AND SONGS
FEATURES
GATHERING REPORTS
EVENT CALENDAR AND EVENT DETAILS

Below:

COWBOY POETRY WEEK AND THE RURAL LIBRARY PROJECT

THE BAR-D ROUNDUP: VOLUME FIVE

COWBOY POETRY WEEK POSTER ARTIST BILL OWEN

ART SPUR

PICTURE THE WEST

COWBOYPOETRY.COM INFORMATION CARDS

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR SUPPORTERS

COWBOY POETRY WEEK AND THE RURAL LIBRARY PROJECT

The ninth annual Cowboy Poetry Week takes place April 18-24, 2010.

CowboyPoetry.com initiated Cowboy Poetry Week, and for the celebration's second year, in April 2003, the United States Senate passed a resolution, with unanimous approval, recognizing Cowboy Week.

Twenty-two states' governors (and other officials) have recognized Cowboy Poetry Week, and with the involvement of poets and others, proclamations are arriving for the 2010 celebration.

Recognition of this year's Cowboy Poetry Week was read into the Congressional Record by the Senate Majority Leader:

The Rural Library Project is an important Cowboy Poetry Week outreach activity. Each year hundreds of libraries receive the Cowboy Poetry Week original Western art poster and The BAR-D Roundup, our annual compilation CD of top classic and contemporary cowboy poetry.

There are Cowboy Poetry Week events happening from Tennessee to Alaska. Read about this year's news and events to date in the Cowboy Poetry Week News and on the CowboyPoetry.com Events Calendar.

Enjoy the celebration!

Find more about Cowboy Poetry Week here.

THE BAR-D ROUNDUP: VOLUME FIVE

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five, the Center's fifth annual cowboy poetry compilation CD is now available.

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five is a compilation of vintage and contemporary recordings of some of the best cowboy poetry. A wide range of voices present tales that express this venerable art form, words that uncover "the heartbeat of the working West."

(Find a narrative description of the CD's contents with poem excerpts here.)

This fifth annual edition of The BAR-D Roundup includes a vintage recording of Charles Badger Clark, Jr. (1883-1957) introducing and reciting his still-popular poem, "The Cowboy's Prayer," and contemporary poets reciting their work, including "Awakenings" by rancher, horseman, and National Endowment of the Arts Fellow Joel Nelson; "The Fence That Me and Shorty Built" by songwriter, poet, entertainer and past Texas Poet Laureate Red Steagall; and "No Second Chance" by top cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell.

Also included are "Waitin' on the Drive" by the late Larry McWhorter (1957-2003), and "Some Cowboy Brag Talk" by the legendary Harry Jackson.

Classic selections include a focus on Charles Badger Clark, Jr. with recitations by Randy Rieman ("The Married Man"), Jerry Brooks ("The Legend of Boastful Bill"), and Hal Swift ("Jeff Hart"). Other classic offerings include Linda Kirkpatrick's rendition of "The Creak of the Leather" by Bruce Kiskaddon (1878-1950); S. Omar Barker (1895-1985) poems recited by Susan Parker ("Ranch Mother") and Jim Thompson ("He'll Do"); and Rex Rideout's recitation of the anonymous "When Bob Got Throwed."

The CD has a fifth annual selection from Grass, the master work by the late Buck Ramsey (1938-1998), a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, recognized as the spiritual leader of modern cowboy poetry.

There are many additional tracks of contemporary poems, most from poets who frequently please audiences from contemporary gathering stages, including: Marty Blocker, Ken Cook, Doris Daley, Janice Gilbertson, DW Groethe, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Chris Isaacs, Dee Strickland Johnson ("Buckshot Dot"), Andy Nelson, Rodney Nelson, Pat Richardson, Georgie Sicking, Jay Snider, and Diane Tribitt.

Every year's CD includes a radio public service announcement about the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. This year, it is delivered by popular radio DJ Joe Baker of New Mexico's Backforty Bunkhouse.

The BAR-D Roundup cover images are vintage photos of poets or their forebears. This year's cover features a circa 1940 image of Georgie Sicking, cowboy, poet, and Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee. Inside each year's CD, a contemporary ranch family photo is featured. For 2010, there's a photo of cowboys, family, and friends at poet and writer Diane Tribitt's Minnesota ranch.

Poems and permissions were generously donated by poets, musicians, families, organizations, and publishers.

The BAR-D Roundup enjoys wide radio airplay, thanks to the pro bono distribution to hundreds of Western radio stations by Joe Baker of New Mexico's Backforty Bunkhouse. Wyoming's Andy Nelson, poet, humorist, popular emcee and co-host of the award-winning Clear Out West (C. O. W.) Radio show is the CD's engineer and co-producer (with Margo Metegrano).

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five, is available for $20 and there are special offers for bundles of past recordings.

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five, is available for $20 and there are special offers for bundles of past recordings.

You can order by mail using the form here or by check or money order in U.S. funds:

CowboyPoetry.com
PO Box 330444
San Francisco, CA 94133

Postage is included for the U.S. and Canada; email us for postage for other destinations.

You can also pay by a secure, on-line credit card payment (a Paypal account is not required):

CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, Inc. a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Act. Contributions are fully deductible for federal income tax purposes. The BAR-D Roundup fair market value is $15 and no amount of the $20 donation for its postpaid delivery is tax deductible as a charitable contribution.

Those renewing their support or making a new donation at the $100 or higher level receive the 2010 edition of "The BAR-D Roundup" and the 2010 Cowboy Poetry Week poster. Find information about supporting the BAR-D here.

COWBOY POETRY WEEK POSTER ARTIST BILL OWEN

Web reproduction permitted for Cowboy Poetry Week promotion with the credit line included:
"'Born to This Land' © 1992, by Bill Owen, www.BillOwenCA.com; Cowboy Poetry Week 2010, www.cowboypoetry.com"
Publications, email us for high resolution print reproduction information.

We're honored to have the work of premier Western artist Bill Owen—his painting "Born to This Land—featured as the ninth annual Cowboy Poetry Week poster. The painting's title is from an outstanding poem by past Texas Poet Laureate, singer, songwriter, radio and television host, and entertainer Red Steagall. Read Red Steagall's poem here in our feature about him; it was included on the first edition of The BAR-D Roundup.
Bill Owen (www.billowenca.com), son of a cowboy, is celebrated for his realistic portrayals of contemporary cowboys and ranchers. He is a member of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America (CA). He has received numerous awards from the CA, and among other honors, has received the Frederic Remington Award for Artistic Merit by the Cowboy Hall of Fame (now the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum); the Prix de West Invitational Show Express Ranches Great American Cowboy Award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum; and the C. M. Russell Art Auction Honorary Chairmen’s Award.

Bill Owen founded The Arizona Cowpuncher's Scholarship Organization, which helps finance college educations for young people from Arizona ranching families.

The artist comments on his painting, "The title of this painting is taken from a poem by my friend, Red Steagall. Fathers often teach the cowboy profession, which includes respect for the land, to their youngsters." The work depicts a Northern Arizona rancher and his son "seen enjoying each other’s company while waiting for the last few head of cattle to arrive at the hold up.”

Visit Bill Owen's web site, www.billowenca.com and read more about him and his art in our feature here.

Bill Owen's wonderful image is also the subject of the Cowboy Poetry Week Art Spur, the twenty-first piece offered to "spur" poets' imaginations. Selected poems will be posted during Cowboy Poetry Week.

Posters are given to libraries as a part of the Center's Rural Library Project and are available to Center supporters at the $40 level or above. (They are not offered for sale.) Find information about supporting the BAR-D here.

ART SPUR

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words...we know many that are worthy of a poem. In Art Spur, we invite poets to let selections of Western art inspire their poetry.
Our twenty-first piece offered to "spur" the imagination—as part of Cowboy Poetry Week—is the work of premier Western artist Bill Owen. His painting, "Born to This Land," is featured as the ninth annual Cowboy Poetry Week poster.
The painting's title is from an outstanding poem by past Texas Poet Laureate, singer, songwriter, radio and television host, and entertainer Red Steagall. You can read Red Steagall's poem here in our feature about him; it was included on the first edition of The BAR-D Roundup.
Poetry submissions now closed; selected poems will be posted during Cowboy Poetry Week.
Soon after Cowboy Poetry Week, we'll be presenting a special National Day of the Cowboy Art Spur. The announcement will appear soon in the news at CowboyPoetry.com.

PICTURE THE WEST

Picture the West is one of the most visited features at CowboyPoetry.com, a growing treasury of photos that give a glimpse of the ranching, cowboy, and rural and working life of the West—from today and yesterday.

It's a great way to share your heritage or your current way of life, and to help show our many visitors the real West. We need your photos to keep this popular feature going.

Find the current Picture the West here. Find an index of all of the many interesting past Picture the West photos here.

Please contribute your photos. Send them to editor@cowboypoetry.com.

COWPOETRY.COM INFORMATION CARDS

Each year, thanks to individuals and gathering organizers, many thousands of CowboyPoetry.com information cards are distributed at gatherings and events. There are two new 2010 information cards:

One is the image selected as the cover for the 2010 CD, The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Five, a circa 1940 photograph of Georgie Sicking, cowboy, poet, and Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee. Georgie told us it was taken at a "traveling show," when she was on her first date with the man who became her husband.

Another features Bill Owen's painting, "Born to This Land," chosen as the image for the 2010 Cowboy Poetry Week poster.

The reverse sides of the postcards have information about the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry and CowboyPoetry.com. Find larger views, the reverse-side text, and previous years' cards here.
See a list here of gatherings, organizations, and individuals who are helping to spread the word by making CowboyPoetry.com information cards available.
Help spread the word! Email us for a supply of handout postcards about CowboyPoetry.com for your event and places in your community.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

We're pleased to have over 600 followers on Twitter, a fine source for news and information You can follow "tweets" from CowboyPoetry.com on the web.

We twee" occasional brief announcements about events and news and about updates at CowboyPoetry.com. Sometimes we tweet poem fragments. We also tweet information about articles, shows, web sites, and such that don't always find a place at CowboyPoetry.com. And, we re-tweet information of interest from those who follow CowboyPoetry.com.

On Twitter, you can follow museums, magazines, organizations, web sites, news outlets, retailers, individuals, and others with news of Western interest. We've "met" a number of followers and it's been a great way to introduce cowboy poetry and its associated arts to others.

It's easy to view the CowboyPoetry.com Twitter updates on the web. You don't need to sign up. Just click here. You can choose to sign up (it's free) to automatically view updates from anyone you choose to "follow" on Twitter. Those tweets can be sent to your page at Twitter (or delivered to your phone). You can send "tweets" via the web or phone.

You can also read recent posts here at CowboyPoetry.com.

THANKS TO NEW AND RECENTLY RENEWING SPONSOR SUPPORTERS

Thanks to our new Sponsor supporters:

Jay Snider

Born to an Oklahoma ranching and rodeo family, Jay Snider raises ranch horses and cattle. Jay is a frequent performer at gatherings across the West, from the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. In 2008, he was named Male Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.

Jim and Julie Nowell

Friends to many poets, musicians, and gatherings, Jim and Julie Nowell are sponsors "In support of the artists who help preserve cowboy life."

And to recently-renewing Sponsor supporters:

National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo
2007-2007, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011

The unique National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo was conceived by and is produced by poet Sam Jackson, based on his belief in "excellence through competition." The National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo returns to Montrose, Colorado, September 16-18 2010.

Susan Parker
2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011

California poet Susan Parker was "born with a cowboy soul, growing up with a love for horses, cowboys, rodeos, and all things Western." She performs her own poetry and recites contemporary and classic poetry. She has a deep interest in the "vanishing voices" of women poets of the past, and is working on a project to help preserve and present those poets' material.

Saddle Up!
2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011

Saddle Up! in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is one of the largest cowboy
poetry/western music gatherings east of the Mississippi River. The four-day
annual event features concerts by some of the genre's top artists along with
a number of other activities including Cowboy Church, Cowboy Symphony
concerts, and Dutch oven cook offs.

Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival
2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2010-2011

The Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is dedicated to Cowboy music, poetry,
shopping, and food. In 2010, April 22-25, there are offsite events and the
main festival event at Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio featuring The
Quebe Sisters Band, Cowboy Celtic, Don Edwards, The Sons of the San Joaquin,
Dave Stamey, Jon Chandler and the Wichitones, Juni Fisher, Brenn Hill,
Yvonne Hollenbeck, Andy Nelson, Cow Bop, The Sons and Brothers, Rusty
Richards, David Bourne, Whit Haydn, John Reynolds, Nancy Lee, The Messick
Family, The Lost Canyon Rangers, The Saddle Cats, the Band of the California
Battalion, Pat Richardson, and others.

Booth Western Art Museum
2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2010-2011

The Booth Western Art Museum, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is an 80,000 square foot museum located in Cartersville, Georgia, where guests are invited to explore the American West through contemporary Western artwork. The Museum also houses a Presidential Gallery, Civil War art gallery, and Sagebrush Ranch—featuring hands-on art activities and areas for role-playing, storytelling and reading, all with a Western flair. Visitors to the Booth Museum also enjoy the intimate downtown setting with unique specialty and antique shops, boutiques and nationally featured restaurants all within walking distance of the Museum. Open since August 2003, the Booth Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Southeast and is the second largest art museum in the state of Georgia. The museum sponsors the annual "Southeastern Cowboy Gathering" in March and the "Southeastern Cowboy Festival & Symposium" in October.

Ken Cook
2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011

South Dakota's Ken Cook ranches and writes in the great state of South Dakota. His poetry has been featured in publications and on the radio. He has entertained at regional gatherings in Colorado, Nebraska, and North Dakota; the Badger Clark and Western Heritage Centers in South Dakota; earned a silver buckle at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo; and was selected to appear at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

Find all supporters' names on the Wall of Support.

Our mission is to preserve and celebrate the arts and life of rural communities and the real working West.

You, and the many poets, musicians, fans, broadcasters, gathering organizers, financial supporters, and other critical members of our community—our over 2 million annual CowboyPoetry.com visitors—inspire our mission. We're grateful for your vital participation.

We're always interested in your comments, and your news. Email us.

Please join us, and spread the word.