Cowboy Poetry: The Tradition and the Legacy (Age 12+)

October 4, 11, 18, 25, & November 1 & 8 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Learn about and participate in the oral traditions of the American West! Join this fun, six-session class to explore cowboy poetry and its history in depth and experience some of the classic poems. You’ll learn to create dynamic and meaningful verbiage, explore the nuts and bolts of writing for oral presentation, and learn how to use your voice and body language to communicate with others. No writing or poetry experience necessary. Teaching Artist Lonnie – a professional writer and performer of original western music, poetry, and stories – will guide you in beginning to create and develop your own poetry in a non-judgmental environment. Creating, writing, and presenting helps us express our emotions and reasoning and learn how to evoke feelings and ideas in others. You’ll have an opportunity to present your poems to the group in a no-pressure setting, building your confidence and communication skills while having fun at the same time. Become a part of the traditions and legacy of the American West – by the end of the class, you’ll have the tools to continue writing your own cowboy poetry! All supplies included. Please enter through the 5th Street door.

Teaching Artist: Lonnie Shurtleff

Lonnie Shurtleff (a.k.a. Lonnie The Eclectic Cowboy) has been a professional writer and performer of original western music, poetry, and stories since 1998.  He has also been a teaching artist in Art Center East’s Artists in Rural Schools program.  Lonnie is a member of Cowboy Poets of Idaho (CPI) and the International Western Music Association (IWMA). He recently taught his Cowboy Poetry classes in April 2023 at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City, Oregon.

Cost: $125 Member / $150 Non-Member

(Youth Scholarships Available)

If you are 18 and under, and have not already filled out a youth release form, CLICK HERE to fill one out!