Friday, June 26, 2020

Sad passing.


Twenty years ago and then some, CowboyPoetry.com showed up online. Established under a veil of mystery, the site started out sort of campy. But the brains behind it soon learned that cowboy poetry, even the funny kind, is a serious art.
The brains behind it turned out to belong to the remarkable Margo Metegrano, who rode herd on the site, driving it to grow and develop into an institution. It became the world’s largest archive of cowboy poetry, both contemporary and classic. It promoted and reported on cowboy poetry events across the country. It featured relevant essays and commentary. And it spun off a blog and a Facebook page.
It established Cowboy Poetry Week, and saw it ratified in the US Congress and by the governors of several states. It formed the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, which, among other things, produced a series of annual CDs featuring thematic collections of poems recited by folks from across the country, and distributed them to libraries everywhere.
It was all a labor of love for Margo, who worked tirelessly to promote an art she had grown to love, becoming, perhaps, the most important and influential person in the cowboy poetry community—all the while content to stay in the shadows, all but invisible, save to the poets who came to know, love, appreciate, and respect her.
Tireless finally turned to just plain tired, and Margo recently decided to hang it up. No one can, should, or does blame her. She deserves the rest. She earned it.
But that doesn’t mean the cowboy poetry community isn’t mourning the passing. And its unlikely we will soon recover, for there will never, ever again, be anything quite like CowboyPoetry.com.



8 comments:

  1. I so agree, will never be another like it!

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    1. Thanks, Linda. It was a treasure I will miss.

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    2. Thanks Rod for your shining words about a truly grand lady and her revered institution!!! Her inspirations will forever be missed but not forgotten!!

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  2. Thank you, Rod. You were always a guiding beacon of light and an important part of it all.

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    1. Thanks, Margo. But I fear I am a bit too dim to be any kind of beacon.

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  3. Rod, I was so moved by your tribute to Margo that I have posted it-- with careful attribution-- on my Facebook page. I hope that is OK with you. Perhaps someone will be inspired to carry on Margo's good work.

    Stay well.

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    1. Happy to have you spreading the word, Linda. I hope it happens.

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