National Cowboy Poetry Gathering: Paul Zarzyski and "Words Growing Wild in the Woods"

Paul rollicks through a formative day in the woods with characteristically wild wordplay. Paul Zarzyski performs his "Words Growing Wild in the Woods" during the "Paul Zarzyski" show at the 36th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Paul Zarzyski
Great Falls, MT
Paul Zarzyski, veteran of 34 consecutive Gatherings and recipient of the 2005 Montana Governor’s Arts Award for Literature, has written poetry for two-thirds of his lifetime. Even before his short 15-year stint as a rodeo bareback bronc rider, he wrote, unbeknownst to him at the time, Rodeo Poetry; his approach to the page has always been to “take that extra tuck and let the lingo buck.” Along with his ten books and six spoken-word CDs, Paul, thanks to Ian Tyson’s encouragement in the early Elko years, has co-written numerous songs. His latest book and companion double-CD are both titled Steering With My Knees—which Paul deems “the definitive metaphorical image of living a wild-West life as a wild writer writing/riding wildly into the far-out wilds of the Cowpoke Cosmos mind.”

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Filmed in front of a live audience at the Western Folklife Center’s G Three Bar Theater in Elko, NV, on Jan. 30, 2020.

Made possible by the multitude of staff, artists, volunteers, and community members working behind the scenes to make this show happen.

Brought to you by the Western Folklife Center, using story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
www.westernfolklife.org

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Crew
Kristin Windbigler executive producer
Meg Glaser artistic director
Brad McMullen national cowboy poetry gathering manager
Marla Mitchnick director + producer
Pablo Bryant director of photography + lead camera operator
Rob Gowler camera operator
Forrest Stangel camera operator
Michael Marashio camera operator + assistant camera
Chris Smith lighting designer
Kyle Soble associate lighting designer + lighting director
David Hancock Taylor gaffer + camera operator
Cooper Richards grip
Lance Wilson video engineer + digital imaging technician
Colin Bricker audio engineer
Kevin Lee audio engineer
Micky Hohl driver + key production assistant