Cowboy Poetry

Works Discussed in This Essay

• "Bingo in the Church Basement" by Paul Zarzyski
• "Cowboy" by Henry Real Bird
• "Lasca" by Frank Desprez
• "Ode to Tofu" and "Spring Thaw" by Elizabeth Ebert
• "Reincarnation" by Wallace McRae

The cowboy has always symbolized the pinnacle of mythology of the American West. Whether it is an advertisement featuring the Marlboro man in his Stetson hat, featured prominently in front of a rugged landscape with his horse nearby, or popular films such as The Man from Snowy River (1982) taking the fictionalized lives of these men, and sometimes women, to new levels of myth, popular culture has long been fascinated by and obsessed with the image of the lone man with his horse, at home in nature. Cowboy poetry, "one of the rare indigenous creations of America," according to the Poetry Society, is a form of poetry that was born from the lives of workers and has built a body of work far away from Hollywood. While the cowboy image was co-opted by film, music, and literature, becoming ever more sensational, the poetry and oral storytelling remained contained within ranch culture, and thus a more accurate representation of that lifestyle.

A tradition began following the Civil War when cowhands took part in cattle drives north from Texas. An eclectic group made up the drives and brought their cultures with them: Irish, Scottish, African and Native voices joined their artistic traditions to find a way to make it through the difficult journeys facing them as they trudged through the wilderness, attempting to tame it and the animals they led.

The act of settling around a fire, even metaphorically, at the end of a day continued. In the 1880s, cowboy poetry began to become available and novels became increasingly popular. Cowboys told stories that were similar in rhythm to the popular poets of their time, such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, spinning verse and folk songs that told of their lives on the range. This practice eventually grew into the movement known as cowboy poetry.

The early days of the movement were self-contained moments of creative absorption, but over the decades the cowboy poetry movement has grown into a vast collection of poets, artists, storytellers, and musicians who eagerly exchange their work and have gained prominence. What was once an end of day verbal ablution of sorts has become a legitimized genre with a large annual meeting, and other smaller conferences across the country. The largest happens at the end of January every year, and boasts attendance of over eight thousand artists and fans at the national Cowboy Poetry Gathering meets in Elko, Nevada. Celebrating its fortieth year in 2025, the six-day gathering is a chance for ranchers and herders to share their poetry and songs. The group is eclectic, made up of people from all across the United States, and each year features a theme. The 2017 theme was "Real Stories. Straight Up." The gathering came from a small grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1980s, which allowed a small group of Western folklorists to connect with working ranches through the West, attempting to preserve the story telling traditions they came across. As rural depopulation rose and the desire to take part in agricultural work declined, many feared that a key part of American folk heritage would be lost. However, the group found something much different. Rather than dispassionate workers, the NEA group discovered a treasure trove of poets and storytellers speaking to a uniquely American way of life. Hal Cannon, who founded the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the Western Folklife Center, which is its host organization, said in a profile for the New Yorker, "There was such a disconnect between what they were saying and what was coming out of Nashville and Hollywood with a cowboy hat on."

Many prominent poets and performers are featured cowboy poets, and their work shares similar themes. Some of the best known include Wallace McCrae, whose poem "Reincarnation" has become a classic of the movement. Others include Dalton Wilcox, dubbed the Poet Laureate of the West, Laurie Wagner Buyer, Paul Zarzyski, Waddie Mitchell, Linda Hussa, and Walt "Bimbo" Cheney. Poets from other traditions like Donald Hall have also written within the genre. Much of this work was collected in the anthology Cowboy Poetry Matters: From Abilene to the Mainstream, Contemporary Cowboy Writing, edited by Robert McDowell, which was published in 2000 to showcase the wide range of styles and themes that are encompassed by the genre. The anthology also collected scholarly essays about the work of the poets, setting up the tradition as an important piece of the American literary landscape.

Aesthetics

Cowboy poetry makes heavy use of poetic forms such as ballads and odes, and devices such as mnemonics and repetition sets. Often at cowboy poetry events, many of the pieces are recited from memory, or relayed in classic storyteller style. According to the Poetry Society, cowboy poetry can be more easily related to the Homeric tradition of oral poetry than to modern poetry. A strange paradox exists within the movement: many of the people who live the lifestyle the poetry strives to bring to literature do not have the formal training of traditional poets, and many of the traditional poets who could write about this topic do not possess the life experience. This, however, results in a rich tapestry of voices that makes for an eclectic range of style and representation of the cowboy lifestyle.

For example, poet Paul Zarzyski is well known for breaking form with traditional cowboy poetry by working heavily in free verse, rather than rhymed stanzas. Zarzyski's work is considered to be modern, while he continues to work within the subjects that cowboy poetry is known for, whether those are horses and cattle, natural occurrences such as prairie storms or a spring thaw, or stories about community, which may explore the spiritual, humorous, or melancholy sides of human existence.

Cultural Impact

During the formative years of the cowboy poetry movement, from the closing of the frontier until the 1950s, the movement's oral tradition was solidified as verse spread from ranch to ranch through the West. Small-town newspapers, stock growers' newsletters, and advertising material were all responsible for the spread of the poetry. Though the movement has always enjoyed an oral and print tradition, recitation was the most popular way for new works to find their way to new listeners.

One example of a poem that was made classic through wide recitation is "Lasca," written by English writer Frank Desprez (1853–1916) in 1882. Desprez spent his teenage years in the West, where he worked on a Texas ranch for three years before returning to England. Published in a Montana Stock Growers paper in 1888, it gained a wide audience after it became a popular piece for cowboys to recite, particularly in Chautauqua presentations, a type of community assembly originating in New York that popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Notable pieces that became popular through self-publishing include Curley Fletcher's "The Strawberry Roan," published as part of a pamphlet in 1917 to become a classic of the form. The piece was published by Fletcher and his brother, and sold at the original Prescott Rodeo in Arizona. Poet Gail Gardner (1892–1988) also self-published a book that included his poem (later a song) "The Sierry Petes," and kept it in print throughout his life. Respected poet Bruce Kiskaddon enjoyed success through self-publishing and a benefactor, Western Livestock.

The importance of self-publishing continues within the cowboy poetry movement, while some poets also work with small presses. However, some of the continuous cultural lines that can be traced through the movement's origins to its presence in the twenty-first century are a fierce connection with independent publishing, an art-for-art's-sake mentality, and a tradition that has stayed true to its original themes and values: celebrating life on the range and connecting over the ranch and wilderness-heavy lifestyle of the West.

Works

The classic works of cowboy poetry have become prominent for many reasons, and the following is an overview of some of the most beloved works and icons of the movement. Considering a timeline that spans three centuries, cowboy poetry has gone through many evolutions and come to mean different things to the artists themselves and fans of the work.

Frank Desprez

Frank Desprez was not a native to the United States, but traveled to Texas for a stay during his teen years when he worked on a ranch. At home in London, England, his poor eyesight made him a poor fit for copper engraving work, so he set off for a life on the range with his cousin. His poem "Lasca" is his most well-known work, and one of the classics of cowboy poetry, having been recited and printed far and wide during his lifetime and beyond. The poem follows the narrator and a woman named Lasca as they pursue a courtship, and take a deadly ride one afternoon. During the climax of the poem, the young lovers find themselves in the path of a cattle stampede and must act quickly to save themselves. The two ride atop a stallion ahead of the herd, as the narrator performs a classic move meant to save them both: he and she must jump from the horse, shoot it, and hide under its carcass as the cattle thunder past them. The narrator says,

"The cattle gained on us—and just as I felt

For my old six-shooter behind in my belt,

Down came the mustang, and down came we,

Clinging together, and—what was the rest—?

A body that spread itself over my breast,

Two arms that shielded my dizzy head,

Two lips that close to my lips were pressed;

Then came thunder in my ears,

As over us surged the sea of steers,

Blows that beat blood into my eyes,

And when I could rise—

Lasca was dead!" (lines 80–91)

Images of the landscape and Lasca dancing and the narrator's feelings about life on the range in Texas permeate the sections of the poem that appear previous to this stanza, but the language is more formal than other cowboy poems to follow. However, the action and imagery are vibrant, making for an easy to follow and exciting tale. The poem was adapted for a 1919 film starring Frank Mayo and Edith Roberts.

Elizabeth Ebert

Elizabeth Ebert wrote poetry privately until 1989, and has since released several collections of poetry including Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems (1997) and Prairie Wife (2006). She has been featured at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering many times, and was also named the Academy of Western Artists' Best Female Poet. She lives in South Dakota and her work runs the gamut of styles, sometimes humorous, and sometimes somber. Two of her poems, "Ode to Tofu" and "Spring Thaw," both published in Crazy Quilt, are good juxtapositions representing the span of her work.

In "Ode to Tofu," Ebert asks what would happen to the range if cattle farms were to be replaced by soybean crops. Dealing with a subject that is personally important to her as a member of a ranching family, she approaches the issue with cynicism and humor. The first stanza sets up the issue,

The gentle cows upon our plains

Who feed upon the grass,

And then, in turn, expel methane

In manner somewhat crass,

Are being blamed for making

Our atmosphere less dense.

They say someday we'll die because

Of bovine flatulence. (1–8)

She then goes on to ask about questions of the joys of life and how they would be limited should crops and livestock production be limited. The poem balances its comic approach with a political stance, and attempts to make its point by winning over the listener, rather than alienating.

In "Spring Thaw," Ebert captures a rare moment for her corner of the country, the short period between the blustery winter and scorching summer months when spring appears. She begins by noting a change in the air, despite the fact that snow is in the forecast. From here, she foretells what one might expect from the coming season, including crocus buds bursting from the earth, retreating snow banks, cows heavy with calves, and rushing creeks. Her evocative use of language the describe the elements of her home so fully and carefully is a perfect example of the ways cowboy poets use language to convey their experiences to the rest of the world. While one may never visit Ebert's home or experience this moment, they can at least attempt to feel, see, and hear what Ebert has on this day she is capturing.

Wallace McRae

Perhaps the best known of late twentieth-century and early twenty-first century cowboy poets, Wallace McRae is a third-generation rancher in southeastern Montana. With a strong narrative voice derived from an oral tradition, he's the author of many collections of poetry including Up North Is Down the Crick (1985), It's Just Grass and Water (1986), Things of Intrinsic Worth (1989), Cowboy Curmudgeon and Other Poems (1992), and the memoir Stick Horses and Other Stories of Ranch Life (2009). He was appointed to the National Council of the Arts in 1996, and, in 1990, became the first cowboy poet to receive a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

McRae's most famous poem is the humorous "Reincarnation" and is performed frequently at cowboy poetry gatherings. Working in the tradition of rhyming meter, the poem begins,

"What does Reincarnation mean?"

A cowpoke asked his friend.

His pal replied, "It happens when

Yer life has reached its end.

They comb yer hair, and warsh yer neck,

And clean yer fingernails,

And lay you in a padded box

Away from life's travails." (1–8)

Following this introduction, the narrator explains that the cowpoke will eventually be buried, only to be reborn as a flower that grows from his grave, is eaten by horse, and will finally appear once again on earth as the horse's waste. The poem's casual tone uses the language of the people living on the range with McRae, writing phonetically to capture the conversation between the two men, while his imagery captures a small moment in the larger landscape surrounding them.

Henry Real Bird

Former Montana Poet Laureate Henry Real Bird is a rancher, author, artist, educator, and Crow elder. He was born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation and speaks Crow as his primary language, which he credits with helping him with his poetry. His poem "Cowboy" is evocative in its portrayal of Native American and cowboy life, and also features repetition sets, one of the standouts of cowboy poetry tying it back to folk traditions. Throughout the poem, the narrator is discussing "Charles 'The Kid' Russell" and his connection to the history of the land and people who are home to the narrator. "The cord-shaking Rattle Man" appears over and over through the piece, as the narrator asks what makes a cowboy and how that differs from the life of a native. In stanza nearing the end, the use of repetition is particularly pronounced and effective,

The cord-shaking Rattle Man

in his rhythmic gallop beat

upon his black and white medicine steed,

the feeling of the horse at his feed

The cord-shaking Rattle Man

came out alone with Star That's Light

just before the sun,

among the colors, playing and dancing—

The spirit of the people

he was putting together

the cowboys and Indians—

Spirit of the ground

trembling through me—

The cord-shaking Rattle Man

touches me, the rhythmic gallop beat." (172–86)

In the last stanza, the narrator asks, "What do you want to be? / A cowboy?" (196–97)

Paul Zarzyski

One of the most modern poets at work in the cowboy tradition, Paul Zarzyski made a name for himself when he began to work in free verse rather than the traditional rhyming and meter other poets of the movement employed. In his poem "Bingo in the Church Basement," Zarzyski captures a moment that is familiar, small, and relatable to many from small communities across the nation. Rich imagery like pinto beans and tiddlywinks being used for bingo markers, idle hands worrying rosaries, and "tarantula hands / of mustachioed Italian women" (8–9) are thrown at the reader in rapid succession as the numbers and letters are called out intermittently. The result is a common moment that becomes thrilling through Zarzyski's use of language and tone.

Bibliography

Auker, Amy Hale. "An Oak Tree and a Sea Change." Western Folklife Center, 9 Feb. 2017, www.westernfolklife.org/blog/2017/2/9/an-oak-tree-and-a-sea-change. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

"A Brief Guide to Cowboy Poetry." Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 8 May 2004, www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-cowboy-poetry. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Cannon, Hal. "Cowboy Poetry." ONE: Online Nevada Encyclopedia, 19 Oct. 2010, www.onlinenevada.org/articles/cowboy-poetry. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Harris, Rachel Lee. "Cowboy Poetry and Rodeos." The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2014, intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/cowboy-poetry-and-rodeos. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Vaughan, Carson. "My Cousin, the Cowboy Poet." The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2016, www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/cowboy-poets-gather-again. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

"Wallace McRae." Poetry Foundation, 2017, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/wallace-mcrae. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Zarzyski, Paul. "Bingo in the Church Basement." Paul Zarzyski(.com )–Poetry–Paladinhadto be Italian, 20 Mar. 2013, www.paulzarzyski.com/poetry/ital‗bingointhe.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Zarzyski, Paul. "Cowboy Confessional: An Interview with Poet Paul Zarzyski." Interview by Darcy Minter. Welcome to the Western Folklife Center, 14 Nov. 2011, westernfolklifecenter.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/cowboy-confessional-an-interview-with-poet-paul-zarzyski. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.