Cowboy poetry cp is a form of poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 which grew out of a tradition of extemporaneous composition carried on by workers on cattle drive

Cattle drive

For the 1951 film, see Cattle Drive .A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses.-Australia:Australia is noted for long drives...

s and ranch

Ranch

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

es. After a day of work, cowboy

Cowboy

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

s would gather around a campfire and entertain one another with tall tale

Tall tale

A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "that fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely...

s and folk songs. Illiteracy was common, so poetic forms were employed to aid memory.

Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have some connection to the cowboy life such that they can write poetry with an "insider's perspective". One example of a popular "cowboy poem" written by a non-cowboy is "The Ride of Paul Venarez" by Eben E. Rexford

Eben E. Rexford

Eben Eugene Rexford was an American writer and poet, and author of lyrics to popular and gospel songs.Born in Johnsburg, New York, he moved with his family to Ellington, Wisconsin in 1855. His first poems were published in the New York Ledger when Rexford was 14...

, a 19th Century freelance author.

Newcomers are surprised to hear cowboy poetry that is contemporary. Many people tend to focus on the historic cowboy lifestyle, but the work that cowboys do continues. The cowboy lifestyle is a living tradition that exists in western North America and other areas, thus, contemporary cowboy poetry is still being created, still being recited, and still entertaining many camp visitors around campfires and convention halls. Much of what is known as "old time" country music originates from the rhyming couplet style often seen in cowboy poetry along with guitar music.

Typical themes of cowboy poetry include:

• Ranch work and those who perform it
• Western lifestyle
• Landscape of the American and Canadian West
• Cowboy values and practices
• Humorous anecdotes
• Memories of times and people long gone
• Sarcasm regarding modern contraptions and/or ways

The following is a verse from LaVerna Johnson's poem "Homestead", which exhibits traditional cowboy poetry features:

We hear calls of cattle lowing, voices carry on the breeze

As it wanders down the canyon, then meanders through the trees.

While we stop to smell the sage, light shimmers "quakie's" golden leaves,

And it sure feels good to be back home again.

(Note the use of cowboy vernacular such as quakie.)

Though it deals with those who work with livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 and nature, it would be incorrect to categorize cowboy poetry as pastoral

Pastoral

The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...

. Cowboy poetry is noted for its romantic imagery, but at no time does it sacrifice realism in favor of it.

Few examples of experimental verse are known in cowboy poetry. One argument is that cowboy poetry is meant to be recited and should "sound like poetry." The counter-argument runs that imposing a particular structure on cowboy poetry would move the focus away from the subject matter. Regardless, most cowboy poets stay within more classical guidelines, especially rhyming verse. So-called free verse poetry is uncommon in cowboy poetry.

Cowboy poetry continues to be written and celebrated today. Baxter Black

Baxter Black

Baxter Black is an American cowboy, poet, philosopher, former large-animal veterinarian, and radio commentator.Black grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was trained as a large-animal veterinarian at New Mexico State University and Colorado State University, but began writing and speaking in the...

 is probably the most famous, and possibly the most prolific, contemporary cowboy poet. Many cities in the United States and Canada have annual "roundups" dedicated to cowboy poetry. Cowboy Poetry week is celebrated each April in the United States and Canada.

Prominent cowboy poets

• S. Omar Barker
  S. Omar Barker
  S. Omar Barker , an oft-recited cowboy poet, was born in a log cabin in New Mexico where he lived his entire life as a rancher, teacher and writer...
  
  
• Baxter Black
  Baxter Black
  Baxter Black is an American cowboy, poet, philosopher, former large-animal veterinarian, and radio commentator.Black grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was trained as a large-animal veterinarian at New Mexico State University and Colorado State University, but began writing and speaking in the...
  
  
• Arthur Chapman
• Bruce Kiskaddon
  Bruce Kiskaddon
  Bruce Kiskaddon has been called the quintessential cowboy poet of the twentieth century and is widely considered to be the cowboy poet laureate of America. His poems were widely published in calendars and books throughout his lifetime...
  
  
• Wally McRae
  Wally McRae
  Wally McRae is a rancher, an American cowboy, a poet and philosopher.Wally McRae runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on south of Forsyth Montana. McRae attended grade school and high school at nearby Colstrip, Montana. He graduated from Montana State University in 1958 in zoology and ...
  
  
• Joel Nelson
  Joel Nelson
  Joel Nelson is a cowboy poet. In 2009 he received a National Heritage Fellowship.-References:...
  
  
• Red Steagall
  Red Steagall
  Russell Steagall is a multitalented showbusiness personality whose career has covered a period of 35 years and has spanned the globe...
  
  
• Steven Fromholz
  Steven Fromholz
  Steven Fromholz is an entertainer, a singer and songwriter who was Poet Laureate of Texas in 2007.-Biography:Born in Temple, Texas, Fromholz began performing while he was serving in the United States Navy during the 1960s. After leaving the Navy, he teamed with Dan McCrimmon to create the group...
  
  
• Waddie Mitchell
• Paul Zarzyski

In addition, Robert W. Service

Robert W. Service

Robert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...

 is sometimes classified as a cowboy poet.

Famed spoken-word artist Bingo Gazingo

Bingo Gazingo

Murray Wachs, better known as Bingo Gazingo , was an elderly poet and former postal worker from New York City. Two versions, each also titled Bingo Gazingo, have been released of the only single-artist album ever released by WFMU -- the first on cassette, the second on CD...

has done at least one cowboy poem, "Everything's OK at the OK Corral."