Research Catalog

Dancin' in Anson : a history of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas ball

Title
Dancin' in Anson : a history of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas ball / Paul H. Carlson ; foreword by Michael Martin Murphey.
Author
Carlson, Paul Howard
Publication
Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press, [2014]

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 15-784Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Additional Authors
Murphey, Michael, 1945-
Description
xx, 148 pages; 25 cm.
Summary
  • "Celebrating the celebration of the Old West. In the 1880s, there wasn't much in Anson, Texas, in the way of entertainment for the area's cowhands. But Star Hotel operator M. G. Rhodes changed that when he hosted a Grand Ball the weekend before Christmas. A restless traveling salesman, rancher, and poet from New York named William Lawrence Chittenden, a guest at the Star Hotel, was so impressed with the soiree that he penned his observances in the poem "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball." Reenacted annually since 1934 based on Chittenden's poem, the contemporary dances attract people from coast to coast, from Canada, and from across Europe and elsewhere. Since 1993 Grammy Award-winning musical artist Michael Martin Murphey has played at the popular event. Far more than a history of the Jones County dance, Paul Carlson analyzes the long poem, defining the many people and events mentioned and explaining the Jones County landscape Chittenden lays out in his celebrated work. The book covers the evolution of cowboy poetry and places Chittenden and his poem chronologically within the ever-changing western genre. Dancin' in Anson: A History of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball is a novel but refreshing look at a cowboy poet, his poem, and a joyous Christmas-time family event that traces its roots back nearly 130 years"--
  • ""Explores the history and reenactment of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball held in Anson, TX every year since 1934; analyzes the poem by William Lawrence Chittenden written about the Anson Christmas dances in the 1880s and is the basis for the reenactment."--
Series Statement
Grover E. Murray studies in the American Southwest
Uniform Title
Grover E. Murray studies in the American Southwest.
Alternative Title
Dancing in Anson
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball: The Background -- Anson and Jones County in the 1880s -- Larry Chittenden: His Life and Letters -- Explicating Chittenden's Popular Poem -- Cowboy Poetry and Pioneer Dances -- Michael Martin Murphey and the Modern Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball.
Call Number
JFE 15-784
ISBN
  • 9780896728912
  • 0896728919
  • 9780896728929 (canceled/invalid)
LCCN
  • 2014027986
  • 40024436343
OCLC
877367633
Author
Carlson, Paul Howard, author.
Title
Dancin' in Anson : a history of the Texas Cowboys' Christmas ball / Paul H. Carlson ; foreword by Michael Martin Murphey.
Publisher
Lubbock, Texas : Texas Tech University Press, [2014]
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Series
Grover E. Murray studies in the American Southwest
Grover E. Murray studies in the American Southwest.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Added Author
Murphey, Michael, 1945- writer of foreword.
Other Standard Identifier
40024436343
Research Call Number
JFE 15-784
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