FEATURING: Hal Cannon

Hal ponders the meaning and value of cowboy poetry and creative expression in the West. Hal Cannon, founding director of the Western Folklife Center, shares his personal journey into the fieldwork and exploration that brought an extraordinary cast of characters together to create the original Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985. Filled with voices, images, and transcendent moments from the Western Folklife Center's archive, Hal's talk is both about preserving tradition and about the quest to find truth and beauty in the creative voices off everyday people.

From the 35th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Hal Cannon
Virgin, UT
Hal Cannon was the very first Founding Director of the Western Folklife Center and one of the creative and daring brains behind the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985. Hal also performs with musical group 3hattrio (vocals, banjo, guitar) and is a scholar of cowboy music and poetry.

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Filmed in front of a live audience at the Elko Convention Center’s Laurena Moren Theater in Elko, NV, on Jan. 31, 2019.

Made possible by Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by the multitude of staff, artists, volunteers, and community members working behind the scenes to make this show happen.

Brought to you by the Western Folklife Center, using story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
www.westernfolklife.org

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