In his groundbreaking essay "Can Poetry Matter?" (reprinted here), Dana Gioia suggested that many types of poetry, assumed by some readers to be marginal art, should not so easily be deleted from mainstream American literature. Throughout the twentieth century, perhaps no important writing has been as seriously -- and mistakenly -- overlooked by the literati as Cowboy poetry. Essentially connected to the folk tale, to legend, myth, the ballad, and song, and vitally enhanced by the contemporary voices of independent ranch women, Cowboy poetry vividly connects us to our past and our fragile, threatened natural environment. The writers included here, both working horse-and-cattle people and mainstream authors, share the brand of bold expression and independent thought found only among the best literary artists. Here is not literary theory. Here is literary life. An anthology as diverse as America herself!

This book offers the first in-depth examination of a distinctive and community-based tradition rich with larger-than-life heroes, vivid occupational language, humor, and unblinking encounters with birth, death, nature, and animals in the poetry.

Can Poetry Matter? is an important book, and anyone who professes to care about the state of American poetry will have to take it into account. --World Literature Today.

Tales of the America's Old (and New) West ala Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour are resurrected in pithy, lyrical poems by Cowboy Poet extraordinaire Robert R. Brown in Who Gets to Ride. Brown's characters range from hard-nosed town marshal Pete Smith to practical and beautiful pioneer women, hapless yokels, hardscrabble cowboys and sylph-like Comanche warriors who make their turn on the stage of America's vast western spaces. Gunfights, brawls, whiskey, horses, grit and love color these dramatic, poignant and whimsical poems that call us back to the spirited, strong folk that shaped -- and continue to shape -- the American West.

This deeply felt meditation on poetry, its language and meaning, and its power to open minds and transform lives examines the importance of poetry and its diverse applications in the world.

As a pastor of Mountain Top Cowboy Church I have discovered that there is little material designed specifically for cowboy churches or cowboy ministries. Although I have been in the ministry for 14 years I had never considered writing a book however the Lord had other plans. In October of 2009 I broke my leg while competing at a 40 and over bull riding which required surgery. I do not believe that it was God's plan for me to ride a bull at the age of 46 but this book is an example that the Lord will use every situation we are in for good if we will allow Him to use us. During my time of recovery I started writing poems and short stories about my rodeo days then it turned to cowboy poetry. In the beginning it was a way to pass the time and deal with my situation. As I continued to write I began to relate my poems to scripture and it was then that the Lord truly began to use them to reach others. After sharing a few with my church I discovered that they could be a useful tool in cowboy churches and ministries or those in the western culture. This book of poems and proverbs is just another example of the Lord's Grace and Mercy in my life; it is because of His love that I am On The Trail