There Is A Silence

An exploration of the cowboy poetry culture in the western part of the US.

By the early 20th century, oral histories, stage performances, novels, and movies have shaped the Cowboy myth into a tough, feared, and lone ranger crossing the country on his loyal horse.

A romantic ideal that took place in American cultural mythology, but far from reality.

Yet at that time, cowboys were agricultural workers who, despite being largely underpaid and under-appreciated, loved their land, worked hard, and took pride in their ranching life.

With the growth of industrialization, many steadily migrated from open plains to the rising cities. Today less than 2% of Americans make their living off of agriculture, but those who continue the tradition provide insight into the true fabric of America’s past.

“There is a silence” is an insider perspective of the Western lifestyle, shared with sincerity and humility by Cowboys who pass on their traditions and history through an unlikely medium: Poetry. Across the country, they gather yearly to perform their best poems and tell a moment of their life.

Rooted in the post-Civil War era, Cowboys have composed poems for more than a century to share the realities of life as a rancher—the land they cherish, the traditions they nourish, and the struggles they endure. This little-known tradition contrasts the masculine image of the Western Hero and brings our storybook American Cowboy to the present day as a humanized group with stories from the heart that can make one laugh or shed a tear.

Cowboy poetry is the story of America, a myth of major proportion, and a pretty fair view of human nature.