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
City Cattle: Humorous Western Political Satire
FC 11 J-06
47
Derwin J. Jeffries
Fifty Below!
We've got to get our heads cut in.
politics, politicians, law
Verse for Aussie Children
Carmel Randle
FC 11 R-27
70
Betty Olle
Alphonso Cordella Visits
At night when little folk are sleeping
Scattered, Lasting Remnants: "Fine Lines" of Poetry and Song
Echo Klaproth
FC 11 K-25
91
Cindy O'Brien LaBry
The thought never once crossed his mind There would ever come a time He'd run out of open range to ride... (from "For the Cowboy's Sake"), He'll push you hard and ride you rough until you think you'll break, but he's never asked more of any man than he himself could take. (from "Behind the Rawhide").
The Night Ol' Flukie Foundered
FC 11 G-39
35
DW Groethe
Song in the Night
On the hillside, coyote rested an' eyed the glistenin' light a-beaming 'from the cabin, on the snow. Checkin' out the riders, as they came in twos an' threes an' disappeared into the door below.
The Trouble with Dreams
FC 11 Q-01
7
Vess Quinlan
Half and Half
She raised nine children in tough circumstances, kept a yard and garden that rivaled a public park.
Cowboy Poetry: The Campfire Ain't Quite Out
Kent Stockton
FC 11 S-59
160
Kent Stockton
Loss
Lying in my sougans with stockdogs nestled close I kept my vigil from the bathroom floor.
Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat
FC 11 Z-03
109
Paul Zarzyski
Grace
In the soft low light up high where love has always thrived and will forever
The Ranch: Poems of the West
FC 11 L-09
38
Elliott C. Lincoln
Waiting
That steak'll be like leather in a minute.
supper
Waiting for the Pear to Fall
FOLK COLL 11 D-29
38
Richard M Dunalp
The Great Coyote Raid
In the Summer of 93, in the poultry business, We decided to try our luck. We acquired a couple dozen leghorns, And a pair of mallard ducks. It was nice to watch them scratch and pick, Through the barnyard and the grass. Chasing grasshoppers and June bugs, And whatever else they could catch.
death, coyote, chicken
Partners in Poetry
Irene Pecoraro and Blondell Whitehead
FC 11 P-01
19
Blondell Whitehead
The Blizzard
With a six horse team and loaded with freight, I had slowly fought my way
Rhymes on the Range
Mike Puhallo, Brian Brannon & Wendy Liddle
FC 11 P-26
22
Brian Brannon
Copey
I learned to chew when I was young.
Sun and Saddle Leather
FC 11 C-12
138
Charles Badger Clark
The Long Way
Two miles of ridin' from the school, without a bit of trouble.
courtship, memories, youth
An Ol' Cowboy Still Remembers?and Other Cowboy Poems
FC 11 E-12
32
Glen Enloe
Gunfight in Springfield Square
Legend has it they were friends a long time ago, Some say Dave Tutt was a man of Wild Bill's own heart.
Canyon of the Forgotten
FC 11 B-60
18
Virginia Bennett
Darn Hard Days
We were too darn busy to stop and think. Survival demanded full attention to our chores. Too tired, even to see our country on the brink Of involvement in the War to end all wars.
Sundry Rhymes
FC 11 G-18
17
June Brander Gilman
Christmas Lights
The citizens of a little village.
The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses
FC 11 P-16
68
Banjo Paterson
The Wind's Message
Cowboy Poems from Mona Flatts
FC 11 R-28
47
Scott Redington
Wyoming Riches
If you ever had the opportunity to wake up to a bright blue, Wyoming morning.
Cowboy Folk Humor: Life and Laughter
FC 11 W-21
John O. West
Collection of Wyoming Poetry: Seven Hundred Miles from The Pecos River
FC 11 B-27
14
Tina Burke
Together
With your family close around you.
closeness, ties, bond, past, children, shared life, joined forces,
At Home On The Range
Charles W. Bell
FC 11 B-71
38
Charles W. Bell
Riding Away
In the quiet hush of the twilight scene, While night comes down to embrace the day, Sometime at eve when the time is right I'll close the door and ride away.
The Humbler Poets: A Collection of Newspaper and Periodical Verse, 1870-1885
Slason Thompson
FC 11 T-04
449
Poker
To draw, or not to draw, that is the question
At Home On The Range
Charles W. Bell
FC 11 B-71
78
Charles W. Bell
Boots
Old Charley was settin' in the Bide 'n Bite An' jawin' with a few of his pals. Of course a lotta lies were told 'Bout the times they'd had with the gals.
Rhymes of Today and Yesterday!
FC 11 G-17
25
June Brander Gilman
Lonely Trees
Staunch and strong, tired and weary.
Buddy Ballads: Songs of the A.E.F. (1919)
FC 11 B-42
37
Berton Braley
Convoy
Black night folding and surrounding us camions and batteries of guns, no light save the shell-fire pounding us searching for the route the convoy runs
Echoes Of The Dawn
FC 11 B-63
17
Belvina W. Bertino
Ranch Garden
Hoeing in the garden is joy On a breezy, sunlit morn With brigh-winged birds a-singing To their babes so newly born.