West Meets the North Woods - Don Edwards & Paul Zarzyski In Concert
Don Edwards and Paul Zarzyski have both been recognized with national awards for their work. Both have spent a good number of years, decades in fact, honing their skills. And both are highly respected by the Western crowd and an Eastern community that generally looks down on folks west of the Mississippi.
But they come to their current professions from very different beginnings. It’s a far cry, in distance, time, and thinking, from Paul Zarzyski’s days as a high school jock in Hurley, Wisconsin where he was raised the son of a hard-rock iron miner, to a Montana college where he traded his football for spurs and a pen. From that point on, Paul didn’t look back. He started writing cowboy poetry well over 30 years ago as he was working on a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana. Since then he’s been sinking his spurs into words that paint a picture of the wide open range, the characters of the west, and rodeo life. Along the way he’s been branded as one of the great humorists of the West.
His writing ability was noticed early on and today he’s widely acclaimed for his work. A New York Times Book Reviewer proclaimed: “Mr. Zarzyski alternates between bluster and lyricism. For the former, he uses lopingly metered stanzas and punch-drunk, self mythologizing bravura…. But he proves equally adept at meditative free verse….” What the New York reviewer was trying to say is… he likes Paul’s poetry. The informative Zarzyski web site (www.paulzarzyski.com) contains a list of similar humorous and flowery reviews, a list as long as a cowpoke’s arm.
Zarzyski knows the west well. And he really knows rodeo life. He worked the circuit as a bareback bronc rider in his 30s and after age 40 turned pro in the Senior circuit, or as Paul prefers to call it, The Masters. Today he “Barnstorms for Poetry” (to borrow a James Dickey essay title) and he’s not only good at it, he’s great. His stage presence has the same punch as his poetry.
Paul’s accomplishments in the sport of cowboy writing could provide enough material to fill a saddle bag. He’s carried his words of the West from Australia to England and has been a featured performer at the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering for the past 20 years. To the uninformed, that event is the western equivalent of running in the Indy 500, and it’s just about as raucous. His books, recordings, song lyrics for famous singers and other writings could fill a second saddle bag. He’s recited at the National Book, Folk, and Storytelling Festivals, The Library of Congress and at center stage with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra to name a few.
He is the recipient of the Montana Governor’s Arts Award for Literature, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, the Western Heritage Award for Poetry from The National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. None of these accomplishments are achieved by a second rate comedian.
In contrast, Don Edwards, son of a vaudeville magician, was exposed to a vast cross-section of music from classical to jazz, and blues to western-swing at a young age. Those influences enter his own music as they did some of the music of the West. He taught himself guitar picking starting at age ten, chased the rodeo and worked ranches in Texas and New Mexico during his teens. Don was also drawn to the cowboy life by the books of the great Western writers and by B Westerns of the silver screen; movies featuring "'sure-' nuff cowboys" like Tom Mix and Ken Maynard.
Don made his first recording in 1964. He has since recorded more than 15 albums, participated in numerous collaborations with other artists and has authored three songbooks. He has contributed much to the preservation and celebration of traditional cowboy music. Two of his albums, “Guitars & Saddle Songs” and “Songs of the Cowboy,” are included in the Folklore Archives of the Library of Congress. The albums are the result of 40 years of research into classic cowboy ballads. He’s also recorded CDs of the songs of personal Western heros from Gene Autry to Marty Robbins.
Highest among many awards Don has received is the prestigious Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in April 2010.
Don’s film debut was in the role of “Smokey” in Robert Redford’s 1997 film “The Horse Whisperer.” He was also featured on the movie’s sound track.
The two artists will perform a set each for the Ironwood Theatre concert and then join for a round robin of songs and verse to close out the evening.
Advanced ticket prices for the concert are $16 for reserved seating on the main floor and balcony, $13 for general seating on the main floor and $10 for general seating in the balcony. Prices are $2 higher at the door. The student rate is $5. Tickets are available at the theatre ticket office, 109 East Aurora Street in downtown Ironwood, or by calling 906/932-0618.
