FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection
Folk Coll 11 is Utah State University's cowboy poetry collection. The collection, originally created
by a generation donation by the L. J. and Mary Skaggs Foundation, includes books gathered
during a fieldwork project in the early 1980s to document cowboy poetry in the U.S. west (see Folk
Coll 11f). From this important fieldwork project came the impetus for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in
January 1985 in Elko, Nevada. Since that time, each January, the Fife Folklore Archives staff take the collection
and Access database (that details each book, poem, author, first line and key words), to the National Cowboy Poetry
Gathering for offsite use. Through University purchases and generation donations from poets and collectors, this collection continues to grow.
Book Title
Composer
Call #
Pages
Author
Poem Title
First Lines
Keywords
Poet of the Big Horns
FC 11 R-15
16
Don Rowland
Your Smile
A tender smile for me my Dear
Between Earth and Sky - Poets of the Cowboy West
Anne Heath Widmark
FC 11 B-40
68
Linda Hussa
A Birth
Across the ditch she turns and stands.
The Ranch: Poems of the West
FC 11 L-09
1
Elliott C. Lincoln
The June Trail
Kree-e-kuh, chuck-a, Kree-e-kuh, chuck-a, Shufflin' hoofs an' saddle leather.
Pinto
Vientos de las Sierras (Winds of the Mountains): Poems of New Mexico
FC 11 B-07
52
S. Omar Barker
An Aspen Grove In Spring
In snowbound February I have seen.
aspen trees, late winter snow, barren tree branches, darkness, loneliness clusters of tree trunks, entangled tree roots, wind, sound of wind in the trees, dignified straight tall trees, coldness, spring, warmth, sunshine, rain, freshness, youthful, warm sky, fresh new leaves, lightness, happiness
More Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-13
26
Bob Ross
The Hermit
Nestled here on Cinnamon Mountain
Tumble Weed: A Collection of Verse
FC 11 J-02
76
Jim Jennings
You
You've made December seem like June.
spring, love, thoughts, December, Christmas, New Year
Along Old Trails: Poems of New Mexico and Arizona
FC 11 S-06
22
William Haskell Simpson
Wait For Me, Years
Wait for me, years!
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
561
Myron Crandall
This is the Place
Come, all ye people, if you want to hear.
Brigham Young, pioneer, Salt Lake Valley
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
292
Old Arizona Again
Oh, it's old Arizona again.
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
485
The Farmer
When the farmer comes to town.
Buckaroo Ballads
FC 11 B-04
68
S. Omar Barker
The Water Hole
For miles the cattle smell it in the desert's sage and sand, And trail in lonely lines down to its edge.
watering hole, desert, life, death
May Darkness Restore
Sean Sexton
FOLK COLL 11 S-74
62
Sean Sexton
Transformation
We hauled six loads of dirt into the front pen, raised and leveled the grade - spoiled all its poetry, made a dry lot - good for work, nothing else.
pen, dirt, construction
Poems Mostly Cowboy
FC 11 N-16
39
Dick Nichols
Christmas Love
Christmas time has come again As it does most every year The fondest wish a dad could have Would be to have you here
Poems of the Old West: A Rocky Mountain Anthology
Levette J. Davidson
FC 11 D-02
202
Jamie Sexton Holme
Timber Line Trees
We never knew the touch of fur and feather.
tree, age, weather
Tall in the Sidesaddle: Ranch Woman Rhymes
FC 11 P-12
22
Gwen Petersen and Jeane Rhodes
The Salon of Dubious Decorum
Now Ruby's her name
Trail Mix: Cowboy Language, Lingo, Poetry & Recipes
Diane Tribitt
FC 11 T-18
38
Diane Tribitt
The Rodeo Poem
Welcome to our humble home we're glad that you stopped in our floor's a tad bit dirty and our roof's a little thin
Confessions of a cowboy poet: The complete works of Bob Christensen, to date (in
FC 11 C-52
38
Bob Christensen
Picture this
Ma opened up the mail sack then gave a shout of glee. It's a letter from my brother, he's going to visit me.
Ranch Verses
FC 11 C-09
29
William Lawrence Chittenden
Texas Types -- The Cowboy
He wears a big hat and big spurs and all that.
pride, strength, loyalty, truth, dude
Cow Country
FC 11 E-04
62
Tom Ellinwood
Traffic Survey
Back there a doe and fawn had crossed.
track, tracking, wildlife
Songs from the Sage Brush
FC 11 P-03
33
Katherine Fall Pettey
Morning on the Desert
Morning on the desert, and the wind is blowin' free
city
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
12
Rod Nichols
Boot Heaven
There's a place I just know where worn-out boots go.
soles, bootmaker, friends
Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
FC 11 R-11
53
Bop Ross
Have House--Will Travel
I looked at this and then rubbed my eyes
Lessons From Leo
FOLK COLL 11 Q-2
68
Vess Quinlan
The Accountant's Complaint
She leaned back in her chair and said sternly, "finally!, after all these years, I know why your outfit struggles so.
farm, cows, accountant
Cowboy Poetry: Cloud Watchers
FC 11 F-16
204
Rolf M. Flake
Arizona
ARIZONA--land of contrast You make us glad to be alive-- We've grown up with you Arizona-- This year you're seventy-five. I'm proud to be called a native Of this state in the great Southwest. My parents--they are natives, too-- Their parents thought this state best.
Rhymes of the Ranges
FC 11 K-04
154
Bruce Kiskaddon
The Willow Creek Wedding
So you think it's sort of funny.
wedding, courtship, jealousy, cunning, mistakes, parson, drunk