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Show A DEFINITION OF COWBOY POETRY The nineteenth century settlement of the American West, with its massive migration of both easterners and European immigrants to the land west of the Mississippi River, is unique in the history of man. While the reasons supporting this statement are numerous indeed, there is one element which is of particular consequence in this discussion of cowboy poetry. As an historical accident of time and place, the West became populated after the advent of widespread literacy. That is to say, by mid-century, the idea of free, public education was not only well accepted throughout the United States and adjacent territories, but in a majority of those areas, some formal education was both available and mandatory. In short, because of the relative lateness of western settlement, a large number of westerners, including the cowboys, were among those nineteenth century Americans who used the printed word as an important means of transferring and sharing information. During the nineteenth century, newspapers, illustrated magazines and "dime novels" proliferated in an attempt to meet the growing appetite of a literate public. As the century progressed, narratives, anecdotes, curiosity items and poetry became common printed fare along with the usual editorialized news and social gossip. Although seemingly out-of-place, the inclusion of poetry in popular publications was very much an accepted tradition. As Joseph T Wilson explains in his essay on this subject, "American newspapers had contained such material since before 1800 and 'broadside' ballads had been sold on the streets in London, Dublin and other cities before that. No artistic custom of the English- speaking people seemed more imbedded; among literate people, life's triumphs and passages were celebrated in verse." (The Cowboy Tour, p. 10) Accordingly, it was only logical that cowboys who were both literate and were part of this versifying, English-speaking culture, should turn to the composition and publication of verse as a means of expressing the particular experiences that related to their unique cultural group. The composition of verse by untrained writers is an activity that has long been documented by folklorists who study traditional folk culture and the ways in which it is maintained and passed on to younger generations. This verse, like most traditional folk art forms, is produced anonymously, passed on informally and modified over time and space through the process of oral circulation. The result is an artistic expression of, and eventually by, a particular folk group or culture, reflecting its beliefs, concerns and aesthetics. In his essay entitled What is a Folk Poet?, T. M. Pearce explains that He writes often of community events and personalities associated with them and of manifestations of natural forces with effects upon society. He writes of the experience of individuals when such happenings offer occasion for 8 Cowboy Poetry From Utah |