Janeczko Collection: Poetry Review # 17

Home on the Range

Janeczko, Paul B. Home on the Range Cowboy Poetry. New York: Dial Books, 1997.
ISBN: 978-0803719118

Critical Analysis:

This unique collection of poems selected by Paul Janeczko is cowboy through and through!   Readers young and old will enjoy the diversity of the poems in this collection, all with one common connection, being a cowboy.  With heartfelt and touching ballads and humorous verse, Janeczko has selected from the best cowboy poets, works which truly symbolize and explore what it is like to be a cowboy in many different realms.  Whether the reader wants to experience the great wide open on the range or a more simplisitic life with less hectic routine, the poems in this collection will cause the imagination to run wild.  The pencil skteches of Bernie Fuchs are simple in design, but portray the life of a cowboy in such detail, that readers feel as if they are sitting around the campfire themselves.  The imagery presented in the text is visible within each illustration, and the words as if from the west themselves, draw the reader to the frontier.  Every aspect of a cowboys life from ridin', and ropin', to hayin', and haulin'....this collection truly depicts how hard yet satisfying being a cowboy can be.  Readers will connect with the cowboy and experience for themselves the raw emotion that the freedom of the open range can bring about.  This collection is truly a round up of sincere cowboy verse!

POEM SPOTLIGHT

Hats off to the Cowboy

The city folks think that it’s over.

The cowboy has outlived his time—

An old worn-out relic, a thing of the past,

But the truth is, he’s still in his prime.

The cowboy’s the image of freedom,

The hard-ridin’ boss of the range.

His trade is a fair one, he fights for what’s right,

And his ethics aren’t subject to change.

He still tips his hat to the ladies,

Let’s you water first at the pond.

He believes a day’s pay is worth a day’s work,

And his handshake and word are his bond.

Red Steagall

Analysis:

As I read through the poems in this collection I could not help but enjoy this poem, as it expresses a concrete message so clearly and confidently, what makes a cowboy a true hero.  The life is rough, the trail is tough, but no matter what, as Steagall states, "his handshake and word are his bond."  There are not many instances in today's busy world when a handshake much less a person's word mean anything, but to a cowboy, they mean everything.  This poem speaks volumes as it smoothly portrayed a cowboy, an ordinary working man, as an honest to goodness, hero.  The imagery within this selection seems to be saying, "you're old and worn-out", but the illustration says, "I'm not finished yet."  So much of a cowboys life is work, and the theme within this poem is that the work is worth it.  The clever use of figurative language to compare the cowboy as the image of freedom, will be one that any reader can relate to and understand.  This poem reads with ease, much like the cowboy rides, and the slow pace of life on the range is presented symbolically within the rhythm and cadence of each stanza.  Steagall has carefully chosen words that are meaningful to the theme such as relic, prime, and ethics, all of which enhance the overall effect of the poem on the reader. 

Classroom Connections:

Being a cowboy is something that all children want to do at some point in their life.  They like to dress up, they like to play horses and rope things, and this poem is a great resource for sharing all about "true" cowboys with the class.  This poem would be a great tool to use on Cowboy Day when the kids are dressed up in their boots and hats.  The teacher could discuss with students how the "ethics" in the poem are like rules, and that a "handshake" was like a promise.  If possible, have a real cowboy come to the class and share the poem and some others from the collection as well.  He could bring some cowboy supplies such as a saddle, spurs, ropes and reins, and even a horse to show the children some riding techniques.  Students could finish up with stories around a campfire and cowboy treats.
To compliment the cowboy poetry the teacher could also share some cowboy themed books with the class such as: The Toughest Cowboy by: John Frank, Cowboys and Cowgirls: Yippee Yay: Gail  Gibbons, and C is For Cowboy: A Wyoming Alphabet by: Eugene Gagliano.