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    Updates:

    April 2010:
    National Poetry Month!

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    Patricia Frolander Bio

    I try to balance family, ranching, and writing and have a passion for each of them. My husband, Robert, and I own his family ranch in the Black Hills of Wyoming. Ties to land and livestock have provided a wonderful variety of subjects to journal and pen. Our family includes three children, seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, all of whom live close to the ranch. Managing family or ranching is like trying to rope the wind. In Wyoming, the wind is either bringing a storm or ushering in sunshine. I love the changes, although as I age, moderate weather is appreciated.

     

    My hobbies include reading, writing, travel, and genealogy.

     

     

     

    Publication Credits

     

    PUBLICATIONS:

    Grassland GenealogyGrassland Genealogy

    Finishing Line Press
    Paperback Chapbook
    27 pages
    price- $14
    ISBN- 978-159924-471-6

    "The poetry in Grassland Genealogy draws heavily and effectively on Patricia Frolander’s authentic knowledge of ranch life. But these moving poems about family ranching in Wyoming also develop a reader’s appreciation for her understanding of the subtle strands of heart and mind that tie humans and animals to each other and the grasslands they share."

                                                                            Robert Roripaugh
                                                                            Wyoming Poet Laureate 1995-2002

     

    Poetry Appearing in Anthologies:

    Poets of the American West, Many Voices Press, 2010

    Wyoming Fence Lines, An Anthology of Prose and Poetry, Wyoming Humanities Council, 2007

    In the Shadow of the Bear Lodge, Editor, Bearlodge Writers, Many Kites
    Press, 2006

    Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West, Houghton Mifflin, 2004

    Hard Ground IV: Writing the Rockies, Pronghorn Press, 2003

    Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin', Gibbs Smith, 2001

    Woven on the Wind: Women Write about Friendship in the Sagebrush West, Houghton Mifflin, 2001

    Trail Dust: A Limited Edition Collection of Western Poetry, WY Agricultural Leadership Council, 2000

     

    Awards and Recognition:

    American Life in Poetry: Column 275
    BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

    2009 winner of the 17th Annual National Senior Poets Laureate Competition, sponsored by Amy Kitchner's Angels Without Wings Foundation.
    WyoPoets, Wyoming Paintbrush, 2007
    Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2006
    WyoPoets National Contest: First Place and Honorable Mention, 2006
    WYOPoets Chapbook, Wind Whispers Down Wyoming, 2005
    WYOPoets National Contest, Honorable Mention, 2003
    WYOPoets National Contest, Honorable Mention, 2002
    WYOPoets Chapbook, Seasons of Wyoming, 2002
    Featured Poet at the 2007 Alzada Cowboy Poetry, Music and Art Show  Guest Poet at the Matthews Opera House feature, Stars Shine, 2008

    Literary Reviews, Magazines, Journal Publications, and Newspapers:
    Owen Wister Review, University of Wyoming, 2007
    Wyoming Rural Electric News Magazine: 1999, 1998, 1995, 1993, 1992
    Farm Journal: 1993
    Cow Country: 1995, 1992, 1991, 1990
    Wyoming Livestock Roundup, Sundance Times, Moorcroft Leader, Billings Gazette

     

    Judgings:

    Range Writers Poetry Contest, 2006

    Wyoming Writers Free Verse Poetry 2009

    Wyoming Writers Traditional Poetry 2010

     

    Excerpt of Writing

     

    Who Would I Be if I Didn’t Have a Name?

    Wisdom-edged woman in Levi’s,
    lover of ponderosa, buffalo grass, and a cowboy.
    Collector of rock and bone.
    Companion of grandchildren, sagebrush
    and a buckskin mare with velvet muzzle.
    Driver of posts, stretcher of wire
    on sweat-drenched, blue-sky days.
    Seeker of deer in bur oak shade,
    of hidden springs of earth-cooled water.
    Reader of history, mystery, and love.
    Poet-emerging.
    Wide-hipped, opinionated,
    callous-handed mother and friend.
    My epitaph? The shadow of a prairie falcon
    gliding over the prairie.


    Water Song

    Water trills light soprano
    over murmuring alto sedge,
    watercress, and mint.
    Rustling leaves of Russian olive,
    hawthorn, oak
    complete the ensemble.

    I sing with them,
    a heart-deep melody
    as sunshine dapples tender shoots.
    Supple pine
    bend and sway with blushing clouds.
    Skimmers and dragonflies dance

    while
    I breathe my lover’s scent,
    watch the gentle breeze tease
    his light brown curls.
    We compose our own music
    as, softly, the grass grows.

     

     

     

    Get to know Patricia

    Some Favorite Books:

    Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
    Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz
    Graining the Mare; The Poetry of Ranch Women, edited by Tereasa Jordan
    Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser

     

    Favorite Children's Book: Where the Red Fern Grows

     

    Favorite Color: Peach


    Favorite Song: Amazing Grace


    Favorite Place: Home


    Dream Trips: Travel Ireland, Cruise Alaska, Rail Southern Canada

     

    Quote Me: Laughter is always a gift worth giving.

    Favorite Quote:

    "If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all of your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fear."  Cesare Pavese

     

    Email Patricia