An article, “Cowboy poet Clark Crouch writes from experience about life on the range,” appeared in the Seattle Times on August 3, 2009 and a longer version is available for view on the internet by clicking here.
The article elicited four comments on the internet. The comments appear below in the order posted and each is followed by a few words of my own, words not intended to be argumentative but rather to place everything in context. The allegorical verse, “On the Other Side,” the poem cited in the comments, which is the lead poem in my most recent book, Views from the Saddle, also appears below.
FunnyPajamas of Sea-Tac, WA wrote: “Oh, please–there isn’t one iota of originality in this “poem.” This kind of stuff belongs on Hallmark Cards, not in newspapers of major U.S. Cities.”
I’d laugh all the way to the bank if the poem were actually on a Hallmark Card. There’s money in them there verses, most probably due to the acceptance of traditional poetry by the general public and its rejection of modern poetry which seems to be most appreciated by a limited audience of modern poets, their peers, and academicians.
And, just to set the record straight, there’s also money in performing cowboy poetry. After all, I just returned yesterday from a 2500-mile trip to Wyoming to perform in three venues, including one to appear on stage with Michael Martin Murphey, the top western and country singer in the U.S.
Gojuryugodan of LaConner, WA wrote: “That kind of nursery rhyme is tedious at best, and a slight to real poets .”
I defer to the following comment, perfect in it’s insight and brevity, for a response.
Fishsalad of Vashon, WA wrote: “I truly enjoyed this article and Mr Crouch’s poetry. I guess “real poetry” is in the New Yorker.”
There is considerable discussion on the definition of poetry…just what is real poetry? The folk poetic tradition, including cowboy poetry, involves the use of consistent rhythm, or meter if you prefer, and true rhyme. Some modern poets of my acquaintance say that the use of meter and rhyme is too difficult to master and have found their forté is in writing free verse, foregoing even blank verse which has a metric structure but without rhyme.
But, perhaps, the real question is whether poetry is alive. For discussion on “the death of modern poetry,” please see the Newsweek article, “Poetry is Dead…Does Anyone Really Care,” and the Atlantic article, “Can Poetry Matter,” by Dana Gioia, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts . The latter is also discussed at some length by Bart Baxter, a renowned Seattle poet, in an article, “Does Poetry Matter? The Culture of Poetry,” published by The Raven Chronicles.
Plainsman1 of Ellensburg, WA wrote: “Unfortunately plains poets like John Neihardt and William Kloefkorn are not mentioned in the article, but that is to be expected since this is about the man as much as the poems. As stated, cowboy poetry is primarily oral. The Western European notion of originality as necessarily “new” is inappropriate to the genre. Nor would a cowboy poet give a corn cob for any critic’s opinion, which is part of its appeal.”
Although I am familiar with Neihardt and Kloefkorn and value their work (after all, they are fellow Nebraskans), my mentor was Charles Badger Clark, the classic cowboy poet, with whom I was acquainted in the early 1940s. My work has also been greatly influenced by Sherman Alexie, a Native American poet, novelist, and screenwriter, who I met in 2001.
The bottom line is that I am personally committed to remembering, preserving, sharing, and celebrating our western and cowboy heritage and the traditions which that heritage embodies.
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On the Other Side
A ridge of hills against the sky,
a won’drous sight to see,
an invitation to explore
this grassy inland sea.
The distant hills all stand in line,
leading a rider on
through a journey of discov’ry
light of a new day’s dawn.
It makes us wonder at such times
“what’s on the other side?”
Seems like there’s always one more hill,
another mile to ride.
When the long journey’s done at last,
the ending of the ride …
topping the crest of that last hill,
we see the other side.
» Latest poem: The Lonely Asterisk
» Latest book: Views from the Saddle
» Chapbook: Eight Viewpoints: western poetry
We’ve just received word that my latest book, Views from the Saddle, has received the 2010 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Cowboy Poetry. It is my second such award, the first granted to my book, Western Images, in 2008.