The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project Meets Cowboys Real and Imagined

In the hallowed tradition of campfire tales and cowboy poetry, the Alzheimer's Poetry Project holds a special session at the New Mexico History Museum on Friday, June 21, 10-11 am. People living with dementia, their family members and the general public are invited to participate in performing and creating poetry inspired by the new exhibit Cowboys Real and Imagined. Gary Glazner, founder and executive director of the APP and APP poets Joanne Dwyer and Michelle Otero will lead the session.

Cowboys Real and Imagined explores New Mexico’s cowboy legacy from its origin in the Spanish vaquero tradition through itinerant hired hands, outlaws, rodeo stars, cowboy singers, Tom Mix movies and more. Guest curated by B. Byron Price, director of the Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West at the University of Oklahoma, the exhibit grounds the cowboy story in New Mexico through rare photographs, cowboy gear, movies and art. It includes a bounty of artifacts ranging in size from the palm-sized tintype of Billy the Kid purchased at a 2011 auction by William Koch to the chuck wagon once used by cowboys on New Mexico’s legendary Bell Ranch.

The event is free by reservation, but limited to 30 participants. For more information or reservations, contact Gary Glazner at garyglaznerpoet@gmail.com

The Alzheimer’s Poetry Project is funded in part by the Santa Fe Arts Commission, New Mexico Arts, a division of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation.