FEATURING: Maria Lisa Eastman, John Dofflemyer, Carolyn Dufurrena

Three poets, who live on ranches in sparsely populated areas, read their poems about life, people, critters, and living in remote areas of the West. Sit back as they introduce you to their lives.

From the 36th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

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PLAYLIST

Maria Lisa Eastman
"Menu" (poem by Maria Lisa Eastman)
"A Different Valley" (poem by Maria Lisa Eastman)

John Dofflemyer
"Mountain Dialogue" (poem by Li Po)
"Nowhere People 3” (poem by John Dofflemyer)
"The Dreamt Land” (poem by John Dofflemyer)

Carolyn Dufurrena
"Overheard in the Taylor Canyon Bar" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)
"Squaw Valley Job Interview 1986" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)
"One Desert Afternoon for Juanita" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)

Maria Lisa Eastman
"Rival" (poem by Maria Lisa Eastman)
"Prayer for a Hawk" (poem by Maria Lisa Eastman)

John Dofflemyer
“Electing Water” (poem by John Dofflemyer)
"Keeping Secrets" (poem by John Dofflemyer)
"Petrichor" (poem by John Dofflemyer)

Carolyn Dufurrena
"October Morning" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)
"No Finer Tonic" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)
"In the Orchard" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)
"Petunia" (poem by Carolyn Dufurrena)

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Maria Lisa Eastman
Hyattville, WY
Maria Lisa Eastman hails from the village of Hyattville, Wyoming, pop. 100. She and her husband operate the Oxbow Ranch, a sometimes-for-profit hay and cattle outfit, and Rainhorse Equine Assisted Services, a verifiable nonprofit, where she rehabilitates unfortunate horses to help people who have had troubles themselves. Some years ago, while riding a colt out in the foothills of New Mexico, she asked him which grasses he liked best, and was so intrigued by his answer that she earned a master’s degree in range and watershed management just trying to figure it out. From there, she worked for many years in rangeland studies, plant inventory, mine reclamation, and grazing management planning. As she likes to say, "Turns out there are actually people who get paid to count grass." In 2018, Maria Lisa published a collection of her poetry, entitled Regarding the Others.

John Dofflemyer
Lemon Cove, CA
A fifth-generation California cattleman, John Dofflemyer and his wife, Robbin, run a cow/calf operation in the Kaweah River watershed of the southern Sierra Nevada. For the past ten years, they have documented ranch life through photographic and poetic perspectives at drycrikjournal.com. After his invitation to Elko in 1989, John began publishing "Dry Crik Review" to encourage and celebrate contemporary cowboy poetry on the page. He has also published 17 collections of poetry, two of which have received Wrangler Awards from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

Carolyn Dufurrena
Winnemucca, NV
Carolyn Dufurrena makes her home in rural northwestern Nevada. She is the author of "Quiet, Except for the Wind: Poems and stories from the cold desert" (2016) and the award-winning "Fifty Miles from Home: Riding the Long Circle on a Nevada Family Ranch." She has also contributed to nationally-recognized anthology compilations. She conducts school and community workshops in writing and filmmaking, has been given the Nevada Press Association's Outstanding Journalist for Magazines award, and is a regular contributor to Range magazine. Carolyn, and her husband, Tim, are part of a large Basque sheep and cattle ranching family that has been in Humboldt County since around 1908. They live on the Quinn River Ranch with a typical assortment of critters.

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Filmed in front of a live audience at the Western Folklife Center’s G Three Bar Theater in Elko, NV, on Jan. 30, 2020.

Made possible by E. L. Wiegand Foundation 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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