Cowboy poetry is a 150-year-old tradition. Will it survive in the 21st century?
As ranchers grow steadily older, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is looking to attract a younger, more diverse crowd.
On a January morning in northern Nevada, cowgirl Marinna Mori stood in a snow covered corral beckoning her horse Hollywood with a bucket of grain. At age 10, Mori is the fourth generation to live on the Mori Ranch, located in the foothills of the Independence Mountains. The horse plodded over, obliging the offer by lowering its head so Mori could tie a rope halter around its neck. Thirty minutes later she was riding with her father, Michael Mori, across a cow pasture where sunlight glinted off the snow like fools gold.
Moments like these inspire the young cowgirl to write about her life on the ranch. Last year, on opening night of the 35th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering,
