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Show THE FAMILY TRADITION OF POETRY In order to understand the artistic expression of any folk cultural group, it is necessary to look at not only the history and definition of the art form but also at the ways in which it is maintained and perpetuated within folk culture. Generally speaking, cultural information, including that relating to artistic expression, is passed from generation to generation through informal channels, with children learning by watching and listening to parents, grandparents and neighbors. The traditional arts of recitation and/or writing cowboy poetry are no exception. Although a number of Utah's contemporary cowboy poets began actively writing or reciting cowboy poetry after reaching adulthood and some began only after retirement, they were familiar from youth with the art form and its conventions, seemingly storing that cultural knowledge until time and inclination were right. The larger, cultural community gatherings at old-time dances, holiday celebrations and cooperative roundups were among the settings in which some grew to know the performance traditions of recitation. For others, their early access to periodicals, newspapers, western novels and published anthologies of cowboy poetry gave them an understanding and appreciation of this art form while teaching them about the literary tradition of writing it. Cowboy poetry, like other forms of traditional art, is often learned through appreciation and sharing in the context of home and family. Without planning, poets were developed by fathers who read to eager children from worn and treasured volumes of Robert Service or Bruce Kiskaddon. Likewise, mothers who wanted "the finer things" for their children and encouraged them to develop their minds by memorizing and reciting poetry, instilled in their offspring both appreciation and facility with rhymed verse. Utah's family tradition of cowboy poetry is an important element in both the survival and continuity of this traditional art form. Cowboy Poetry From Utah 25 |
