One was the "Urban Cowboy" movie, which "set a fashion trend. Everyone knew John Travolta was not a cowboy, but it was fun to pretend. So they could pretend, too, and wear their hats and boots. Those of use in the industry all noticed — because the price of hats and boots went up."

Then, after the cowboy-poetry gatherings in Elko started, "a cowboy poet got invited on the Johnny Carson show. That was a stunning thing because, here was the real cowboy and he was so different from all the other comedians who talked about their old lady and sex. Cowboy poets were real, and some of the stuff was really clever and really good."

Cowboy poetry became popular, he said, "because it's authentic. It's funny. It's sad. And that's life."

It's not really a new thing. "There was a rush at the turn of the last century with poets like Robert Service, A.B. Paterson and Curly Fletcher — even Rudyard Kipling, who wrote about real people and events."

But nowadays, "the media has given us a lot of exposure. I do commentary on PBS and publish books that have sold thousands of copies. It's a pretty cool thing to be part of."

A lot of very talented people are also out there doing it. "It's not just a fad, not a short dress that will be long next year. It will stay around because it goes into people's hearts."

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com