SURPRISE!

For many years, Jeff Streeby and I have maintained a convivial, if distant, relationship and we correspond from time to time. Among other things, he is author of a remarkable collection of prose and poetry, Sunday Creek, a look at an Old West town from an engaging variety of viewpoints. He also taught English language and literature at high schools and universities, and has been honored with several prestigious awards and other recognition. Jeff is also Senior Associate Editor for OJAL Arts Incorporated, and manages its prominent publication, OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters, or O:JA&L for short.

The high-toned Journal features a wide range of poetry and prose, as well as the poets and writers who create it. They also publish a “Masters Series” of chapbooks featuring  a selected author, their work, and other material. Jeff offered me the shocking opportunity to be featured in the Masters Series. The result is a 52-page chapbook under the Journal’s Dally Post Press imprint, Saddle Work: The Art & Practice of Cowboy Poetry. The book features a handful of my poems, including some heretofore unseen, an essay on cowboy poetry, and an interview in which I attempt to provide rational answers to Jeff’s probing questions. I can’t remember the last time I had to think so hard.

The O:JA&L website is featuring one of the new poems, “Give That Cowboy a Hand,” (with more to come) as well as the entirety of Saddle Work: The Art & Practice of Cowboy Poetry. Click on the links and take a look. Being included in the Masters Series is an honor—and a big surprise.