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Show it's always been an important part of Meb's life. For years he's enjoyed the works of Kiskaddon and Barker, listened to ranching neighbors recite poems at dances or around the campfire, and has himself recited some of the old classics "for 50 years or better." He always wanted to write verse, but didn't give it a try until just before he left the Strip. Since his first poem, "Open Range," Meb has created an impressively large number of poems, "about true happenings or things that I know about." Occasionally he reads them to other cowboys and sometimes he types and sends copies of his poems to friends throughout the country. Meb's work, which covers the spectrum of themes generally found in cowboy verse, often shows nostalgia for times past. He consistently displays a healthy respect for the natural elements while chronicling his experiences on the Strip and throughout the West. But Meb's artistic output is not limited to the recitation or writing of poetry. He is also skilled with pen and pencil and often illustrates his poems with detailed western drawings. Sometimes he even creates miniature saddles with hand-whittled trees and hand-stamped leather that, like his poems and drawings, reflect his love for the western lifestyle. His traditional skills in illustration, recitation and the writing of cowboy poetry are also shared by other members of his family. His sister, Yula Sue Whipple Hunting of Beryl, Utah, both writes and recites cowboy verse and is also a prolific illustrator. Similarly, two of his sons, Lucky and Cody, are avid producers of western art. Lucky, at the age of thirteen, wrote and illustrated the first of many poems while Cody has written and published several western songs. For three generations of Whipples, the artistic expression of western culture, through literary, performing and visual art, has truly been a way of life. And for Meb Whipple, his cowboy poems and drawings, have helped him hold on to .the ranching lifestyle that he loved so much as a young man and that he has struggled throughout his life to maintain. Cowboy Poetry From Utah 31 |