Performer and author Sharon Carpenter releases an extraordinary new poetry collection that engages readers with home truths of the Classical West
BROOKFIELD, Wis. – For years, Sharon Carpenter penned original writing for a variety of performances. Skilled in storytelling and knowledgeable in American history as it relates to the western frontier, Carpenter amassed quite the collection of cowboy poetry. With a loving nudge from her daughter Tylene, Carpenter embarked on her own frontier-forging odyssey – publication.
In “Western Cowboy Poetry: An African American Perspective” (published by iUniverse), Carpenter presents a look at the history of the American frontier through the eyes of some of its forgotten explorers, the African Americans who headed west seeking freedom and opportunity. The poetry contained was designed for raising awareness through an entertaining venue as a performing poet speaking aloud to diverse audiences. The following poem entitled “Isom Dart,” shows Carpenter’s typically allusive, linguistic realism, wit and highly-charged lines that make her poetry best exemplify as well as rise beyond the confines of her chosen genre:
Isom Dart
Let me tell you the story
Of ol’ Isom Dart,
How he broke my will and my soul,
And also my heart.
He was as elusive as them horses
He was always chasin’;
You think you
y landed him,
Then you find – time, it was a wastin’…
Carpenter was introduced to the cowboy poetry writing and performing style by Joel Hayes, founder of Douglas County’s Poetry Writers Group located in Douglasville, Georgia. She was a performing poet with the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Annual Georgia Cowboy Gatherings.
“Many still appreciate cowboy lifestyle; especially in the west where there are renowned cowboy gatherings, events that feature poetry readings, bronco and horseback riding, as well as other entertaining events,” notes Carpenter, whose poetry has garnered critical praise. An amazing take on concepts and virtues of the Western story, Sharon Carpenter’s “Western Cowboy Poetry: An African American Perspective” is an elegant surprise from a literary horizon, one that in all probability only she could have written. It is a collection shining with truth and beauty in legendary time and place.
About the Author
Raised in Connecticut as a foster child, Sharon Carpenter migrated to Alabama years ago where she graduated from Jacksonville State University. She also earned a master’s degree in human resources and training from England’s prestigious Leicester University. She currently resides in Wisconsin with her husband, James, and their youngest daughter, Jamie.
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