Issue Date: July 20, 2003

In this article: Poets pen a "WEEKEND" verse

POETRY

Extending the range

For years, cowboy poetry paid homage to the land and the men who rode it. But cowgirl poets are now riding high, too.

By Kathleen Conroy

Western poetry, like the landscape from which it draws inspiration, has long been dominated by the cowboy -- as in menfolk. But a growing number of women are sidling up to the literary campfire and imprinting their own brands on this Western tradition.

At the Gene Autry Academy of Western Artists this month in Oklahoma, the eighth annual Will Rogers Awards for Excellence showcases both cowboy and cowgirl poetry. The Lariat Laureate, awarded each July by cowboypoetry.com, has been bestowed on women, too, over the past few years. Women also are raising their profile on the cross-country summer circuit that marks the high season of cowboy poetry gatherings.

Keying in on our nostalgia for a way of life eroded by development and the loss of family farms and ranches to conglomerates, cowgirl scribes follow the genre conventions of rhyme, meter and wry humor. Like their macho brethren, they mine familiar themes of old-time cowboy poets: hard work, family, fickle human love, loss, loneliness and a fertile yet unforgiving land.

The century-old tradition of cowboy poetry has spawned poets with names such as French Camp Red, Buck Ramsey, Charley Sierra and Tex Tumbleweed. Former large-animal veterinarian Baxter Black became one of the first to cross over to mainstream listeners when National Public Radio began airing his poetry across the country more than a decade ago.

Like their male counterparts, many cowgirl poets were raised on farms or ranches, and they still work the land or retain its imprint on their hearts. Last year's top AWA female poet, Debra Coppinger Hill, 46, of Chelsea, Okla. (pop. 2,136), manages her family's 4DH Ranch, raising cutting horses and cattle. Her life and family inspire her poetry.

"I write about my daily experiences ... to document our lives, get things off my chest or share moments of joy," she says. Everything from the arduous midwifing of a calf, which later died, to a grandfather whose intricate whittling produced beautifully carved wooden animals has served as a muse.

Another lauded cowgirl poet, Jane Morton of Black Forest, Colo. (pop. 13,247), also grew up riding the family range. Now retired from ranching and teaching high school English, Morton writes poetry that celebrates daily life, good and bad. A raging fire on the homestead sparked a lament for destroyed trees, buildings and land; another poem recounts her prickly dad recruiting "country club" tenderfoots to help with cattle branding -- a turn on the common literary theme of the country bumpkin in the big city. Both are equally lost in new terrain; both elicit sympathy and scorn.

Younger poets, who are more likely to be city dwellers, reflect even further changes in the Western legacy. Nicole Legerski, 32, who lives with her husband and 5-year-old son in Sheridan, Wyo., moved "to town" as a young girl after her rancher dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. "I'm part of the generation that ended up leaving the family ranch," she says. "Writing Western poetry is a way I pay tribute to my ranching family -- Mom, Dad, my uncles ..."

Cowboy and -girl poets agree Western poetry is more a state of mind than a birthright. Often, observing from outside the city limits can bring the greatest light to city dwellers, they say. But "you write from the heart -- what catches your attention or how it makes you feel," Hill says.

Learning the lingo can be tricky. What if you don't know a "cinch" (the band that holds the saddle on a horse) from a city slicker? Feelings, not words, are the soul of the poetry, Hill says: "Folks respond to poetry of family, home, love of land."

Humor helps counter the somber tone of Western poetry, Legerski says. "We can laugh and forget about how tough things were, yet keep the best memories alive. As a female poet, I put a humorous spin on the heartbreak of ranching life."

Whether you consider yourself a real cowpoke or a Western romantic, the poetry form strikes a chord. Memories of a trip west or ghost stories around a campfire are the stuff of cowboy and cowgirl poetry as well, Morton says.

In the end, gender has little to do with it. "Oh, and don't kick up a fuss when you're called a 'lady cowboy poet,' " she says. "It's just tradition, and an honored label to many cowgirl poets."

"I do a cowboy's job on the ranch every day," Hill adds. "I've earned the title."

To learn more, visit www.cowboypoetry.com and cowboys-n-cowgirls.com, or check out "The Big Roundup" (New West Library, $21.95) and "Cowgirl Poetry" (Gibbs Smith, $10.95).

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Weekend with ... Cowgirl poets

We asked two noted poets to compose exclusive works for our readers, using the word "weekend."