In Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion we lift our lariats and salute twenty years of poetry sharing at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. Reflective and rascally, tough and fresh, clever and insightful, this book holds the history, the heritage, and the future of the vibrant voices of the West. This anthology comprises some of the best of traditional cowboy poetry predating the present cowboy poetry revival, as well as work created since 1985. It is a great retrospective, giving us a sense of where we have been and where we are going, as well as a fitting tribute to the men and women whose words reflect an authentic American West. Virginia Bennett is the editor of Cowgirl Poetry, also published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher. There is something uniquely honest about cowboy poetry and the lives it reflects. Lacking the pretension and self-importance of other contemporary poetry, it is, like the people who write it, inseparable from the landscape of the American West. It is an honest expression of the hard-working, independent souls who not only live on the land but whose lives depend on it.In this book we lift our lariats and salute twenty years of poetry sharing at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. Reflective and rascally, tough and fresh, witty and insightful, you hold in your hands both a heritage and a future of vibrant voices from the West. "Will I see you at Elko?" In 1985, a group of western folklorists organized the first coming-together of Cowboy poets in Elko, Nevada. Twenty years later, the Elko "family" is still gathering, laughing, singing, rhyming, and sharing in a weeklong feast of poetry. These are poems that make no excuses. They are honest, sometimes witty, sometimes touching, and always heartfelt. Combining enduring Western classics and new works that reflect the contemporary face of the West, this book celebrates twenty years of poetry sharing at The Gathering in Elko. FOREWORD Cowboy Poetry: The Reunion In 1985, when a group of folklorists and cowboy poets got together in Elko, Nevada for the first-ever "cowboy poetry gathering" they thought it would be a one-time event. Western Folklife Center Founding Director Hal Cannon had worked with state folklorists from western states and cowboy poets like Waddie Mitchell to identify active reciters and ranch poets throughout the West and bring them together in Elko. There were about forty poets, and the audience, mostly ranch families, numbered less than a thousand. Everyone, from participants to the media, loved the event, and the rest, as they say, is history. It was decided to have the event again the next year, and the next...and now, amazingly, we find ourselves celebrating the 20th anniversary of what the United States Senate proclaimed "The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering" in 2000. During those twenty years the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering has grown into one of the West's premier cultural events. The Gathering sparked a grass roots renaissance in western oral literature and music, inspiring some 300 similar cowboy poetry and music events throughout the West in the past two decades. Used Book in Good Condition