Cowboy Poetry Matters: From Abilene to the Mainstream: Contemporary Cowboy Writing

For years, Cowboy Poetry has been seen by readers of mainstream American poetry as a marginal art. Cowboy Poetry Matters is the first book of its kind to dispel this idea by creating a dialogue between contemporary mainstream poets and traditional Cowboy poets. Spurred by Dana Gioia's essay, "Can Poetry Matter?," Paul Zarzyski responds with "The Lariati Versus/Verses the Literati: Loping Towards Dana Gioia's Dream Come Real," a compelling essay in which an historical bridge is built between the urban contemporary canon and the rural pasture land. Cowboy Poetry Matters brings together the work of poets whose common ground is their love of horses and their dedication to their own style of "cowboying." Whether it be Maxine Kumin's depiction of her horse being shod, Linda McCarriston's haunting vision of Joan of Arc's horse burned before her eyes, or Laurie Wagner Buyer's song of "Wooing the Wanton Mare," this anthology expands the boundaries as to what constitutes a Cowboy poem. Those who do not consider themselves lovers of traditional Cowboy Poetry, will be utterly surprised by what they find inside: Donald Hall, Wallace McRae and Buck Ramsey riding their horses side by side by side.