Baxter Black (January 10, 1945 – June 10, 2022) was an American

cowboy poet Cowboy poetry is a form of poetry that grew from a tradition of cowboys telling stories. Authorship Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have so ...

and

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

. He wrote over 30

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

—both

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

s and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

—and commentary, selling over two million books, CDs, and DVDs.

Biography

Black was born in

Brooklyn Naval Hospital Brooklyn Naval Hospital was a hospital in Brooklyn, New York City, within the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was one of the oldest naval hospitals in the United States, having operated from 1838 to 1948. Two of the structures in the former hospital's s ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, but grew up in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

. In high school, he became the

Future Farmers of America National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...

(FFA) president, the senior class president, and lettered in wrestling one year. He began riding bulls in

rodeos Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

while in high school, and continued riding throughout college. Black received his undergraduate degree at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

, and completed veterinary school at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...

, graduating in 1969. He was a practicing veterinarian from 1969 to 1982, specializing in large animals, such as cows and horses. During the last two years of his veterinary career, Black gained popularity through public speaking with over 250 appearances. After this, his career as a poet began. Black also hosted the public television series ''Baxter Black and Friends''. He wrote a column, spoke on the radio, and had short segments on RFD-TV and

The Cowboy Channel The Cowboy Channel (formerly FamilyNet) is an American cable television network in over 42 million cable and satellite homes, which carries Western and rodeo sports. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took th ...

. He resided in

Benson, Arizona Benson is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, east-southeast of Tucson. It was founded as a rail terminal for the area, and still serves as such. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 5,105. History The city was ...

, with his wife, Cindy Lou, where they had no cell phone, television, or fax machine. One of his

philosophies Philosophical schools of thought and philosophical movements. A Absurdism - Action, philosophy of - Actual idealism - Actualism - Advaita Vedanta - Aesthetic Realism - Aesthetics - African philosophy - Afrocentrism - Agential realism - ...

of life claims: "In spite of all the computerized, digitalized, high-tech innovations of today, there will always be a need for a cowboy." When asked what made him decide to become a cowboy, he said, "You either are one, or you aren't. You never have to decide." In late 2021, Black retired from writing and speaking engagements because of health issues. Black's wife, Cindy Lou, reported on January 15, 2022, that he was in hospice care. His son-in-law explained, however, that the hospice consisted of a home health care worker checking on Black every few days because of various medical issues. Black died from leukemia on June 10, 2022, at his residence in

, aged 77.

Radio

Black's radio career began as a chance occurrence. During a news-worthy local event, he submitted some of his work to a radio station. Black specified in an interview, "It was the year

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellow ...

caught on fire, 1988. We were listening and they didn't have any coverage to speak of, and it was a huge deal in our life. It was a huge deal in Colorado (where I lived) and the sky smelled like smoke and I had this big tumultuous poem about range fire... So I sent them this. I just sent it to "

Public Radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

" in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

And two or three days later I get a call back."''Home on the Range with Baxter Black''
/ref> Baxter was a regular commentator for 20 years on NPR beginning in the early '80s, he was a regular commentator for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

's ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

.'' ''Baxter Black on Monday,'' the weekly syndicated

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

, was on the air since 1989, and his weekly syndicated column, ''On the Edge of Common Sense,'' was carried by more than 150

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

Bibliography

References

External links

Official website

''Cowboy Poet Appreciative Of Rural Life''

''Parade Offers More Than A Whiff Of The Old West''

Baxter Black
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

*
''Legacy of a Rodeo Man'' with Baxter Black
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Baxter 1945 births 2022 deaths Cowboys Poets from New Mexico American veterinarians Male veterinarians Cowboy poets People from Benson, Arizona Writers from Arizona Writers from Brooklyn

Biography

Radio

Bibliography

See also

References

External links