Las Vegas, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands Donnelly Library presents a free night of cowboy poetry and music April 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 802 National Ave.
Karlene Martínez, Ray Drew Gallery Curator at Donnelly Library, said the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry asked her to plan an event to commemorate National Cowboy Poetry Week, April 21 – 27.
Martínez said New Mexico has a history of celebrating cowboy poetry and music.
“On April 25, we have quality entertainment including Randy Huston, a locally raised musician, scheduled to sing,” Martínez said. “Deanna Dickinson, a cowgirl poet from Weed, New Mexico, will recite her poetry.
Dickinson won a 2019 Western Heritage Wrangler Award for her poetry CD, “I’ll Ride Through It.” In addition, Huston and Dickinson together won a 2019 Western Heritage Wrangler Award in the category New Horizons for a combination of music and poetry.
“Duke Sundt of Las Vegas, one of our local favorites, is a natural entertainer and a nationally known sculptor who will entertain us with Stewart Williamson’s poetry. Williamson, a bit and spur maker from Portales, New Mexico, writes poetry and calls himself a writer rather than a reciter,” Martínez said. “This will be a lively evening of cowboy entertainment.”
According to the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, its mission is to serve the mostly rural and underserved community of rural western writers, musicians and artists in an effort to help preserve western cowboy poetry and related arts.