Cowboy Poetry Week

Cowboy Poetry Week. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Yesterday was the kickoff of Cowboy Poetry week. Cowboy poets from all walks of life and across the country keep this time honored tradition alive and people like Margo Metegrano who runs CowboyPoetry.com love to tell others about it.

METEGRANO: This is our 12th annual and CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry which is our non-profit organization initiated the Cowboy Poetry Week back in 2002. The next year we had a U.S. Senate unanimous resolution recognizing it.

Since then 23 states have recognized it. But what is this thing called cowboy poetry and why do so many people like it?

METEGRANO: I think it is easily understood by people. Poetry isn’t part of American life today the way it was say even 30 or 40 years ago where every magazine - every newspaper would have poetry in it. I think what’s compelling about the best cowboy poetry today is that it tells stories that people can relate to even if they’ve never set foot on a ranch.

There are many, many cowboy poetry festivals all around the country and equally as many aspiring cowboy poets of all ages. I myself have written a few cowboy poems but then that is for another day.

METEGRANO: Cowboy poetry/western music can remind people of the important values and of a different way of life from the crazy skyscraper, concrete world that most people have to live in these days.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.