Wally McRae, a regularly featured performer at the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, has performed on a syndicated television program and at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. He is the first cowboy poet to be granted a National Heritage Award. This book contains 94 of his poems, including such classics as Reincarnation, along with 40 new poems published for the first time.Paperback; 25 black & white illustrations
Can Poetry Matter? is an important book, and anyone who professes to care about the state of American poetry will have to take it into account. --World Literature Today.
These poems, accompanied by stories that tell the thoughts behind the poems, are so filled with local color, you will find yourself right there with the author...wanting to join the author on any of those rides across the ranch that inspired the writing of these poems and stories. The author has lived a life filled with adventures. Even Hollywood wants to retell many of those adventures. This book gives you a much deeper insight into lessons learned through good and bad choices. You will find yourself in many places, physically and mentally, thinking over what you have read. You will look out through the author's eyes...off a mountain top...across a beautiful valley. Or you may look up into the night sky at all those stars and shiver thinking about, "How big (is) our God?" These are poems that come right from the heart. Each time you read a poem you will gain from that reading no matter how many times you read it. Then as you read the story that accompanies the poem you will be drawn even closer to this person that has learned the Lord has much to offer. Each poem is a Testimony to the blessings of life. See if you can count all you gain from this book; it has to do with living and learning. It is not hard to figure out the author is very close to animals especially horses. Everyone has a heart for horses and the love of the heart returns through the stories in this book. We have all heard or read that God is Love. You will find as you read through these poems and stories an undeniable recognition of love felt by the author; inspirations that can only be given to us by God. A Father that loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son to die to us. This book is able to take you in any direction you want to go. You may want to use it to get you through the day or use it to make the day go away. You decide how to use this book. You will find this book is your friend, to enjoy any place, any time, and with any one!
What are the connections between cattle branding and Christian salvation, between livestock castration and square dancing, between rustling and the making of spurs and horsehair bridles in prison, between children's coloring books and cowboy poetry as it is practiced today? The Cowboy usesliterary, historical, folkloric, and pop cultural sources to document ways in which cowboys address religion, gender, economics, and literature. Arguing that cowboys are defined by the work they do, Allmendinger sets out in each chapter to investigate one form of labor (such as branding, castration,or rustling) that cowboys perform in their "work culture." He then looks at early oral poems that cowboys recited around campfires, on trail drives, at roundups, and at home in their bunkhouses, and at later poems, histories and autobiographies written by cowboys--most of which have never beforebeen studied by scholars. He discovers that these texts not only deal with work but with larger concerns, including art, morality, spirituality, and male sexuality. In addition to spotlighting little-known texts, art, and archival sources, The Cowboy examines the works of Twain, Steinbeck, Cather,Norris, Dana, McMurtry, and others, and features more than 60 historic photographs, many of which have not been published until now.
As a pastor of Mountain Top Cowboy Church I have discovered that there is little material designed specifically for cowboy churches or cowboy ministries. Although I have been in the ministry for 14 years I had never considered writing a book however the Lord had other plans. In October of 2009 I broke my leg while competing at a 40 and over bull riding which required surgery. I do not believe that it was God's plan for me to ride a bull at the age of 46 but this book is an example that the Lord will use every situation we are in for good if we will allow Him to use us. During my time of recovery I started writing poems and short stories about my rodeo days then it turned to cowboy poetry. In the beginning it was a way to pass the time and deal with my situation. As I continued to write I began to relate my poems to scripture and it was then that the Lord truly began to use them to reach others. After sharing a few with my church I discovered that they could be a useful tool in cowboy churches and ministries or those in the western culture. This book of poems and proverbs is just another example of the Lord's Grace and Mercy in my life; it is because of His love that I am On The Trail
"One of the finest works to come out in recent years on cowboy songs, in addition to being the first good collection of the cowboy's bawdy material. . . . A must for anyone who is a student of cowboy music--or anyone who just likes the sound of dirty subject matter rhyming." -- Hal Cannon, Journal of Country Music "A brave and honest step toward increasing our understanding of what cowboys really sing." -- Bob Bovee, Old Time Herald "A thorough piece of scholarship and collectanea and a valuable, welcome addition to cowboy song literature." -- Keith Cunningham, Mid-America Folklore "Logsdon has written the book with a scholar's attention to detail. But what shows through the scholarship is the collector's enthusiasm for the material. . . . A superb job in a difficult area." -- Angus Kress Gillespie, Journal of American History "A major contribution to the folklore and popular culture, history, and social psychology of American cowboy culture." -- Kenneth S. Goldstein, former president, American Folklore Society
