A reading by Joel Nelson of his poem "Equus Caballus" during the 29th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada on February 1, 2013. Additional footage from the ranch of John Dofflemyer on December 20, 2013. Official Selections in the 2014 Visible Verse Film Festival, 2015 Trail Dance Film Festival, 2016 Film Festival at Little Washington, 2016 ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival, 2016 5th International Video Poetry Fest, 2017 SINESTESIA Mostra Internacional de Videopoesia, 2018 Reel 13 Shorts, and 2018 Silk Road II International Poetry Film Festival. Winner at the 2015 Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival and 2015 Equus Film Festival. Curated into "The Horse" exhibition at Nevada Museum of Art, looping March-July 2016, and "Horses of the American West" exhibition at Western Folklife Center, looping September 2016-May 2017.
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Camera by H. Paul Moon and Shang Ik Moon; music composed and performed by Josh Coffey, engineered and performed with Jacob Siener; editing by H. Paul Moon. This piece is from footage we filmed for a feature-length documentary work-in-progress. For more information, visit: westdocumentary.com.
ABOUT THE POET:
Joel Nelson is highly respected in the world of cowboy poetry and recitation. He has appeared in many major cowboy poetry festivals, including the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which he co-founded. A Vietnam veteran and former custom saddle maker, Nelson is an excellent horse trainer. His CD "The Breaker in the Pen" (2000) was nominated for a Grammy Award. Nelson was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2009, and was also poet-in-residence at Rothbury, Northumberland, England. He lives and works with his wife on their 24,000-acre ranch outside Alpine, Texas, where they raise Corriente cattle.