Baxter Black - 1945
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Campbell County High School, Wyoming
I. Biography
Baxter Black was born in 1945 and was a son to a dean of agriculture at New Mexico State University. He is married; his wife's name is Cindy Lou. He currently lives in Colorado. He was a veterinarian from 1969 to 1982. He is a cowboy, a poet, a fiction writer, and a columnist. He is also a National Public Radio commentator, and he is the founder of Coyote Cowboy Company (Coyote Cowboy Company).
Black's commentary, poetry, and fiction writings come from his experiences throughout his life, which makes his writing even more unique. His work is often compared to Will Rogers for its quality. "Baxter's humor tends to pick up on quirks in human nature—those little self-deceptions and flights of fantasy that reveal character." (Christian Science Monitor, M.S. Mason). Mason also commented that "Unlike so many other comics, Black keeps his work free of meanness. His affection for those he skewers is felt" ("Baxter Black").
II. Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When and where were you born?
A. Brooklyn Naval Hospital, NY on January 10, 1945 during WW II. My dad was in the Navy.
Q. Where did you grow up?
A.. Las Cruces, NM.
Q. What were your interests and achievements in school?
A. F.F.A president and reporter, senior class president, lettered in wrestling one year.
Q. Did you rodeo at all?
A. I rode bulls in high school and college.
Q. What made you decide to become a cowboy?
A. You either are one, or you aren't. You never have to decide.
Q.
Where did you go to college?
A. New Mexico State University and Colorado State University, graduated in 1969.
Q. What was your greatest struggle in college?
A. Passing calculus and trigonometry which were required to apply for veterinary school.
Q. How did education play a role in your life?
A. Education taught me to read, and taught me how things worked.
Q. How did education have significance later in your life?
A. It allowed me to practice veterinary medicine.
Q.
What is the most unique animal you have looked at lately?
A. A cow that had been snake bit on the tongue.
Q. What is the most thrilling call you had to make as a vet?
A. Looking at a cow that might have been rabid or one that might have had anthrax.
Q. Would you suggest becoming a veterinarian to someone just graduating high school?
A. It depends on what you find satisfying.
Q. How did you go from veterinarian to poet?
A. The last company where I was working as a tech veterinarian changed hands and let me
go. I was doing "speaking" on the side and people just kept calling, so here I am.
Q. What inspired you to become a poet?
A. Just sort of an accident. I thought I was a song writer.
Q. When did you start writing poems?
A. In my mid-thirties.
Q. When were you first published?
A. First column was published in July 1980 in the Record Stockman, Denver, Colorado.
Q. Who is your favorite poet? Favorite poem?
A. Of the "dead guys" Australian poet A.B. "Banjo" Patterson who wrote "The Man from Snowy River".
Q. Who do you admire - who has inspired you?
A. My mother.
Q. Who are some of the most influential people in your life?
A. My parents, my Ag teacher (Rupert Mansell), my veterinary mentor Dr. Van Brimhall,
my best boss John Basabe, and my entertainment friend and counselor, Red Stegall.
Q. What would be your advise to someone interested in writing?
A. Write about what you know.
Q.
What is your definition of a cowboy?
A. Someone who can replace a uterine prolapse in a range cow in a three section pasture with nothing but a horse and a rope.
Q. Are you married?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you have kids?
A. Yes.
Q. What are you currently doing?
A. I make a living speaking at agricultural banquets, writing my column and selling my
books and tapes.
Q. Do you have any funny stories or events that have happened to you?
A. Yes, my books are full of them!
Q.
What would you say are your top 3 accomplishments?
A. I haven't accomplished them yet.
Q. How do you want to be remembered?
A. As someone who didn't embarrass his friends (Coyote Cowboy Company)
III. Writings
The Cowboy and His Dog; or, Go Git in the Pickup!, illustrated by Don Gill, Record Stockman, 1980.
A Rider, a Roper, and a Heck 'Uva Windmill Man, illustrated by Gill, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1982.
On the Edge of Common Sense (poetry and stories), illustrated by Gill, Dick Spencer, Jerry Palen, Herb Mignery, Lex Graham, and Bob Black, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1983.
Doc, while Yer Here (poetry), illustrated by Gill and Black, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1984. Backaroo History (poetry), illustrated by Gill, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1985.
Coyote Cowboy Poetry (poetry), illustrated by Gill, Black, and others, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1986.
Croutons on a Cow Pie (poetry), illustrated by Gill and Black, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1988.
The Buckskin Mare (poetry), illustrated by Dave Holl, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1989.
Cowboy Standard Time (poetry), illustrated by Gill and Black, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1990.
Croutons on a Cow Pie, Volume II (poetry), illustrated by Gill, Black, Holl, and Charlie Marsh, Coyote Cowboy/Record Stockman Press, 1992.
Dunny and the Duck (poetry), illustrated by Gill, Black, and Marsh, Coyote Cowboy Company, 1994.
Hey, Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky? (novel), Crown, 1994.
IV. Works Cited
Coyote Cowboy Company. Benson, Arizona. 12 Jan. 2000
http://www.baxterblack.com/"Baxter Black." Contemporary Authors Volume 147. 1995 ed.
This essay was submitted by a student of Nathel Coca, a teacher at Campbell County High School in Gillette, Wyoming.