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Show attached." (White, p. 139) As Logsdon concludes, "The popularity and impact [of published anthologies] on cowboy songs was extensive, for many songs collected in the oral tradition since Lomax published his collection have been word-for-word with his versions. It is not uncommon for cowboy singers to say that they own or have used the Lomax book." (p. 128) In short, whether a cowboy text was originally written to be a song or a poem, whether or not it originally appeared in print, and whether or not the individual author can be identified, are not of prime importance in the study and appreciation of cowboy song and poetry. Rather, the important fact is that the people, who are part of the still viable cattle culture continue to respond to this poetry and share it, one with another, through whatever means of communication are available, because it reflects their beliefs and concerns while conveying their values and community aesthetic. Having briefly discussed the history of this traditional art form, the way in which it is produced, and the ways in which it is shared and passed on to others, it seems appropriate that the poetry itself, its form and content, should be addressed. In an article entitled "Cowboy Poetry is True Folk Art," folklorist Hal Cannon observed that "Folklorists have questioned it because it is often authored and written, even published, rather than being anonymous and passed orally and informally, [while] formal poets have dismissed it as doggerel." (Idaho Arts Journal, 1984) Yet given the close relationship between cowboy poetry and cowboy music, i.e. folksongs, it is not surprising to find that Brunvand's definition of a folksong in The Study of American Folklore has some bearing on defining cowboy verse. He writes that folksongs use only a few, simple stanza forms; their rhyme and meter seem irregular compared to conventional poetry; their language is stereotyped and cluttered with cliches; they freely repeat phrases, lines and whole stanzas, often as refrains [a phenomenon that usually occurs in cowboy poetry when it is transferred to the musical realm]; and their texts are full of dialect terms, archaisms, and garbled usage. After that seemingly dour definition, he goes on to say, "Despite all of this, the best of [them] have a unique charm and force that have not been equalled in literary imitations [and] no amount of description can ever replace hearing [them] sung by traditional performers." (p. 152) In cowboy poetry, these same descriptors are accurate, from the pattern and stanza form to the all-important use of dialect terms and other specifically cowboy words which serve to verify the poems' authenticity. Additionally, the notion that communicating or sharing the poem through performance is integral to its appreciation, is likewise true of some cowboy poetry. Whether a poem is read out loud, recited, sung or performed, through its performance, the very stylistic elements which might 12 Cowboy Poetry From Utah |