Cowboy Poetry

The Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev., has become a time of soul searching for ranchers as well as a time for celebration. Cowboys are searching for answers to questions they are still trying to figure out. "Desperation is the source of a great deal of creativity," said Arizona rancher Dennis Moroney during a discussion of new ideas for making ends meet in ranching.

Set up a shooting range, suggested Steve Rich. Japanese tourists in the West "want to ride a horse and shoot a gun, and if they can shoot at a stick of dynamite, so much the better."

Look at endangered species as an attraction rather than a threat, said Rich, who added that he plans to charge a bundle for visitors to see the California condor when it is released near his Arizona ranch.

Get visitors to work or pay to learn, suggested Moroney, who is setting up an educational institute on his ranch. "Nobody gets on a horse until they dig a post hole or move a sprinkler line."

Bring a photography or writing workshop to the ranch, suggested Barbara Van Cleve, who was signing copies of her new book Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women.

There was plenty of celebrating along with talk of work back at the ranch. Cowboy poetry publisher John Dofflemyer was married at the gathering. Dofflemyer's Dry Crik Press had two new books for the occasion: I Am Not a Cowboy, a striking combination of art and poetry, and a how-to epic poem by Laurie Wagner Buyer entitled Braintanning Buckskin: A Lesson for Beginners. Dry Crik Press, P.O. Box 44320, Lemon Cove, CA 93244 (209/597-2512).