Northern Nevada may be beautiful, but it is not lush. In the winter, it is windy and cold. One might even call it “unwelcoming.” So the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, hosted by the Western Folklife Center and held annually for the last 35 years, stands […]
Read moreTag Archives: Paul Zarzyski
You Should Be in Elko
It’s Day One of my annual attendance of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. So excited! Before the multitude of concerts, dances, and poetry recitations, the Gathering hosts several educational workshops, intimate one-, two-, or three-day classes led by experts. You can learn […]
Read moreNCPG in Elko: Celebrating Storytelling and Life with Horses
For those who’ve not had the pleasure of attending the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, an annual event run by Western Folklife in Elko, Nevada, it may be easier to describe it through metaphor: If the Gathering were something you ate, it would be tapas, snacks […]
Read moreZarzyski’s Wild Rides
I had the excellent opportunity to interview poet and former bronc rider Paul Zarzyski last month. As a young man, Zarzyski headed west from his Wisconsin roots and landed in Montana where he started riding bucking horses and attended the University of Montana. Some 40 […]
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