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Straight from our archives to your streaming device, it’s TV made for you. Decades of archival recordings and live entertainment rooted in life in the American West—cowboy poetry, music, gearmaking, educational and thought-provoking programming—you’ll find it on Western Folklife TV, with new content released every week.

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Upcoming Events

The Gathering

Sep 18, 2024

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM18:00 – 20:006:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Oct 9, 2024

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM18:00 – 20:006:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Oct 31, 2024

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM18:00 – 20:006:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Join us in 2025 as we celebrate our ruby anniversary, and double down for 40 more years. We’ll pass the time poetically, reveling in that which is both beloved and uncommon, reflective and celebratory, established and rebellious. The wind is briskly at our backs and we’re forging ahead into another 40 years of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Meet you in Elko!

Thank you to our members, donors, and sponsors who make the Gathering possible.

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It’s not too early to become a member and be first in line to buy tickets for the 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (Jan. 27 - Feb. 1, 2025).

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This month, Elko local and Basque elder Bob Echeverria tells us about the practice of makila carving.

This month, the cowboy poets mull over a dilemma “as old as human fingernails” as they answer a question about transition planning for generational ranches.

This month, the poets describe their “heaven on earth” as they answer this question asked by Anonymous, “What is your favorite place on Earth?”

This month, the poets are asked a question by another poet. Jonathan Odermann asks, “"When inspiration strikes...what is the silliest, strangest, or otherwise most unconventional way you've managed to record a poem before it escaped your consciousness?"

Tipping over horses, caving in the sides of pickups, and charging to kill. While most range cows get ornery every once in a while, some of them become legendary for their temper. This month, the cowboy poets answer Cowpoke’s question, “What’s a story about the most ornery cow you ever came across?”

This month, the cowboy poets reflect on the crucial sensory ingredients that combine to make memorable poetry as they answer this question posed by @carteagraphy: “How much do you think about the sound/music versus the imagery of your poem?”

In her blog, Gathering Manager Callie Greenhaw boils down her first time managing the Gathering, and two-plus decades of attending the Gathering, into two words.

This month, the cowboy poets discuss artistic license in poems as they answer a question posed by The Man Who Didn’t Shoot Liberty Valance: “Could you comment on how you approach decisions about taking artistic license in your writing? Also, could you comment on any historical poems you’ve researched where you’ve found the legend has outpaced the truth or the truth is in fact stranger than fiction?”

Respected buckaroo, horseman, and ranch manager Jeff Mundell advocates for the role of the horseback cowboy in a collaborative, future-oriented, regenerative agriculture movement. Read Jeff’s essay about shifting “The Cowboy” archetype with conversations across occupational cultures that connect story-wise cowboys, data-wise scientists, and the living flora and fauna that tie them together.