Summer 2007 - the Wyoming State Library

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Wyoming daughter pays tributeto family, land, heritageShe is the daughter of the land we callWyoming.“It’s from where I come; I’m unableto separate myself from it. I don’t everwant to be separate from it—it’s whatgives me roots and wings to fly,” saysCowboy poet Echo Roy Klaproth.She’s a fourth-generation Wyomingrancher who writes to pay poetry to herunique family history. She describes herfamily as guardians of the Wyoming’sland since before its statehood.“It’s a story our children need toknow. It’s also a story that othersmust hear because our lifestyle is onthe endangered list,” she says. OnceKlaproth reached her 30s she began totalk seriously about becoming a writer.Now she writes prose and poetry,specifically cowboy poetry.“Cowboy poetry is simply a rancher’sattempt to save the stories.” She sayscowboy poetry spurred a revival ofpoetry in this country.“I get lost when I’m writing and soam relieved from the day to day, anytensions I might be carrying. It servesas a healer, forgiver, answer, discussiongroup, counselor and teacher,” she says.Not only is Klaproth a writer, but sheis also a teacher. She teaches seventhgraders through seniors in high schooland didn’t go back to school to becomean English teacher until she was 45.At the end of each year Klaprothcreates an anthology in her students’work and in essence publishes thepieces in the Shoshoni High SchoolWriter’s Hall of Fame.“We use writing as a tool to get ourthoughts and ideas on paper,” she says.“Everyone has a voice and loves, needsand deserves to have that voice heard.”She says teaching has really inspiredher writing and hopes that her writingand willingness to share it with herstudents will inspire them.Klaproth says she didn’t always know28Wyoming Library Roundup • Summer 2007she wanted to be a writer. Instead, itwas God’s plan with a little help fromher first grade teacher.Of her favorites is a single poementitled “In Her Mind”. “I tell others,my students in particular, that this onepiece of writing has taken me to theSmithsonian and back and forth acrossthe county.”It was written on a napkin at hermother’s home in about 15 minutes.Her mother was in poor health,mentally and physical, frustratedthat morning because she couldn’tremember something important shewanted to tell Klaproth—a commonoccurrence at that time, she says.“She always thought it was aboutsomeone else, and in reality, it was andis. It’s about a lot of women. Perhapsthat’s why it’s been accepted as a goodstory.”Her latest project, Words TurnSilhouette, is a book of prose and poetryis dedicated to women of all ages.Another book of prose and poetrycalled, Echos of a Fourth Generation,chronicles modern ranching andfarming in Wyoming.Quoting a Cheyenne Frontier DaysRodeo program she says: “The frontierline is advancing settlement alreadyhas disappeared like misty shadowsvanishing before the sun’s rays. Let’s allbe merry…and celebrate old frontierdays…for when we die as Bill Nye said,‘We’ll be a very long time dead.’”Klaproth’s most recentaccomplishments include editingan anthology of “fine lines” fromcontemporary cowboy poems andsongs titled Scattered, Lasting Remnantsand producing A Nameless Grace, a CDdevoted to ranch women, past andpresent.Speaking: 11:15 a.m., Entertainment Stage.Book signing: 1:30 p.m., SaturdayCowboy poetryon the festivalentertainmentstageFor a great time and somegreat rhyme, watch a cowboypoetry performance on thefestival entertainment stagefrom 11:15-12:30.Sometimes funny, sometimessentimental and alwaysfun, cowboy poetry drawson traditional topics such asranch and farm life, the land,animals and rural characters.You might even hear adiatribe or two on prairiedogs or wolves. It’s written intraditional form – with rhymeand meter – and is meantto be performed rather thansimply read.Cowboy poetry is entertaining,and it’s written by peoplewho have lived the life theywrite about. For this specialperformance, the WyomingBook Festival welcomes cowboypoets Dick and Jane Morton,Echo Roy Klaproth and TerryHenderson.The entertainment stagewill be the site of otherperformances, such as danceand music, throughoutSaturday of the festival. Stopby the stage any time for somegreat entertainment and to seethe full list of performances.
Help support the Wyoming Book FestivalThe Wyoming Book Festival encourages reading and celebrates the state’s strong, diverse writing community. It featuresauthors who write everything from wilderness guides to literary poetry to cookbooks. The festival will bring togetherthousands of people to meet the authors whose lives and work connect them to Wyoming. It’s a family-friendly event withnumerous fun activities that promote books and encourage reading.The festival is a project of the Wyoming Center for the Book, a registered 501(c)3 organization that promotes books, bookculture and Wyoming’s literary heritage.Wyoming Book Festival events are free to the public. To keep it that way, the Wyoming Center for the Book relies on thegenerous support of its sponsors and the work of numerous volunteers.We need your help. You can help make this first festival a great one and also ensure the future of the Wyoming Book Festivaland the Wyoming Center for the Book.Please consider making a donation today to the Wyoming Center for the Book in support of the Wyoming Book Festival.Checks may be made out to the Wyoming Center for the Book, or use our online donation form on our web site at www.wyomingbookfestival.org.YES! I want to support the Wyoming Book Festival and the Wyoming Center for the Book. Enclosed is my donation of:$______ $50 $______ $100 $______ $250 $______ $500 $______ $1000 $______ other Please use my donation specifically for the Wyoming Book Festival Please use my donation however the Wyoming Center for the Book may needName: ________________________________________________________________________________________Company: _____________________________________________________________________________________Mailing address: _________________________________________________________________________________City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________________________________________Email address: __________________________________________________________________________________Phone:Please check all that apply: I would like to receive a FREE subscription to the Wyoming Library Roundup magazine. I would like to receive email updates about the Wyoming Book Festival. I am interested in volunteering for the festival.Please make checks out to the Wyoming Center for the Book, or make a credit card donation using our online form at www.wyomingbookfestival.org.The Wyoming Center for the Book, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Your donation may be tax deductible, as allowed by law.Wyoming Library Roundup • Summer 2007 29
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Summer 2007 - the Wyoming State Library

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