Wranglin' rhymes

Some of the poetry is doggerel; some, plain silly. But much of it is sophisticated, humbling, and uplifting.

And that's what attracts visitors from all over. Private planes were at the airport; RVs filled the parking lots. Rooms in every motel and swanky guest ranch were full - not that anybody does much sleeping.

When the daily programs ended, spirits were still high. Hundreds headed back to the Stockmen's Hotel, where impromptu groups gathered in the rooms upstairs to sing along with groups such as Hot Club of Cowtown, recite poetry, and even perform rope tricks.

Along with poetry and music, Western art holds sway. William Matthews, a virtuoso watercolorist whom Forbes magazine has tagged "the true heir to the great Western painter Frederic Remington," was featured at an exhibit of his paintings, "The Cowboys of the Great Basin," at the Western Folklife Center.

"I realize how isolated folks are in these rural settings," Mr. Matthews says. "They have to be self-sufficient."

Although Matthews grew up in San Francisco and is no more of an equestrian than I am, he has spent years learning to understand what's real in a cowboy's life.

"I began to learn about their internal landscapes - the can-do attitude and personal conviction that drives them," he says. "The Great Basin is one of the last places on earth where you can still imagine you are the last person alive.

"The spaces are so vast, the landscape so wild and untouched. [Because the climate is] arid throughout the year, the plants are armored, and so are the men and women who live there. For me, watercolor is a direct line to their souls."

He is a big booster of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering: "It is a concentrated and crystallized picture and reunion of many of us who live in the West."

Sunday morning, as we circled our rental cars back to Elko's tiny outpost of an airport, we all had to laugh at the sign outside a greasy-spoon breakfast spot - "Yahoo! Buckaroo breakfast for $2.99. We have lattes, too!"

Looks like the designer coffee culture has come to the Wild West. Next year there will probably be poetry about lattes as well as lassos. But I hope not.

The 2002 gathering will run from Jan. 26 through Feb. 2.

Early Gathering, which begins Jan. 26, features educational experiences and evening entertainment. The gathering swings into full gear Jan. 30 with an evening concert at the Elko Convention Center. The next three days are filled with poetry, music, discussion, exhibits, and films.

For information and tickets, contact Cowboy Poetry Gathering Tickets, Western Folklife Center, 501 Railroad Street, Elko, NV 89801, or call, toll-free, 888-880-5885. The website is www.westernfolklife.org.

Elko is located on Interstate 80, 230 miles from Salt Lake City. It is accessible by Skywest Airlines (a Delta connection) and Amtrak. There is discount charter bus service between Elko and Salt Lake City. (Call 800-727-1606 for more details.)

For information about accommodations, call the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority at 800-248-3556 or see its website, www.elkocva.com.

Elko, Nev., isn't the only location where the twang of cowboy poetry will be heard in the next two months.

Many of America's best-known cowboy poets, including Waddie Mitchell, will bring the traditions of the American West to life on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. in Salt Lake City's Capitol Theatre. That's when "An Evening of Poetry and Music" will be performed as part of the Olympics Arts Festival.

For information, call (801) 355-2787. To buy tickets online, go to www.tickets.com/ gen_event_info.cgi?SECID=46598.

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