Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination by Michael Allen (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 3 3 3 repeatedly, thus implying that there are comparatively few westerners whose writings are truly significant. This undercuts an introduction that invites us to see the multiplicity of western American cultures and note the many writers whose work “begins to suggest a new western identity, something broader and more open than the simple ‘he’ of the traditional West” (18). Nevertheless, rather than turning in on its own completeness like some anthologies, The Literary West reaches outward. Well excerpted pieces from My Antonia, Refuge, The Land of Little Rain, and The Grapes of Wrath invite new readers into those works and provide pleasant reminders for others. The introduction and the “Guide to Further Reading” at the end of the volume provide a wealth of additional titles, helpful context, and advice on choosing useful critical and historical materials. Because of this open-endedness, the quality of the excerpts, the interesting connections among the selections, and the thoughtful commentaries, The Literary West serves several audiences well: it would be a good undergraduate literature text, an excellent introduction for readers new to or intrigued by the West, a nice surprise for folks who think “sense of place” can be found only in nature writing, and a thought-provoking resource for fans of western American literature. Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination. By Michael Allen. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1998. 270 pages, $29.95. Reviewed by R obert R oripaugh University of Wyoming, Laramie Rodeo and the men and women involved in it have been a significant but relatively neglected part of western American culture and literature for over a century. With Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination, Michael Allen has written a fine study of the subject based on his own knowledge, the sources dealing factually with rodeo life and its history, and treatments in film, folklore and literature, art, and music. Allen describes himself as primarily a historian, but he is also involved in American studies and utilizes that inter­ disciplinary approach in an effective and interesting way. The initial chapter, “A BriefHistory ofRodeo,” gives an overview ofwhat becomes, in time, a professional sport rather than a rangeland contest and cel­ ebration by working cowboys. Allen discusses the evolution in origins, back­ grounds, and motivations of rodeo performers as related to cowboy history and his later consideration of their place in popular culture. His second chapter focuses on rodeo as a subject in film, with an emphasis on The Lusty Men, The Misfits, Stoney Burke (on television),junior Bonner, j. W. Coop, Electric Horseman, Urban Cowboy, 8 Seconds, and The Cowboy Way. A chapter on “The Rodeo Cowboy in Folklore and Literature” considers oral and written traditions, including tales, folk beliefs, superstitions, reminis­ 3 3 4 WAL 3 5 . 3 f a l l 2 0 0 0 cences, novels, and poetry from earlier figures such as Curley Fletcher and contemporary poets like Paul Zarzyski and Red Steagall. Novels discussed include Larry McMurtry’s Horseman, Pass By, and Moving On, William Crawford’s The Brone Rider, along with Cyra McFadden’s memoir, Rain or Shine. A perceptive chapter on rodeo art and artists is enhanced by eight pages of illustrations and photographs. “The Rodeo Cowboy in Country Music” discusses how older folk songs blend into the work of Ian and Sylvia, Chris LeDoux, Red Steagall, Garth Brooks, George Strait, and other singers and songwriters. In Allen’s view, their songs present “the rodeo-cowboy folk hero: his wanderlust, sto­ icism, courage, pride, humor, attitudes toward rodeo animals and the wild, and ambivalence toward women” (133). In “Rainbow Rodeo Riders and the Archetypal Anti-Archetype,” Allen deals with the question of whether racial, sexual, and cultural diversity exist within the cowboy way of life and among rodeo performers. He concludes that cowboy culture and its code of behavior, and the openness of rodeo as a sport, to a large degree have always worked against prejudice. He supports and illus­ trates this factually and through examples from film, art, music, and literature, including poetry and novels such as Ken Kesey’s Last Go Round written with Ken Babb, Hal Borland’s When the Legends Die, Craig Lesley’s Winterkill...