Wally ponders the big questions with serious cowboy philosophy in one of his most well-known poems. Wallace McRae performs his "Reincarnation" during the "Montana Poets" session at the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985 (in 2000, the event was renamed the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering by an official act of Congress).

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Wallace McRae
Colstrip, MT
Wally McRae’s family began raising livestock on the Rosebud Creek in Southeastern Montana just ten years after General Custer’s one-way trip through the neighborhood. Except for time spent at college and as a Naval officer, he has been following a cow around and writing poems. Wally’s poems and prose reflect the humor, pathos and individual characters in his community and culture. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded him with the first National Heritage Fellowship for a cowboy poet in 1990.

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Filmed in front of a live audience at the Elko Convention Center’s Turquoise Room in Elko, NV, on Feb. 1, 1985.

Made possible 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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