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New Members

Welcome to our newest members Shaun “Gnarl” McGrath, Arian Mabe, Jeeves the Roo, Eric M. Witchey, and KC Alpinus!

Member News

It’s awards season, so first of all, congratulations to all our members whose work was nominated in the Ursa Major Awards and the Cóyotl Awards!

In book news, Kyell Gold has released Black Angel, Over Time, and the collection Twelve Sides. In short fiction news, Mary E. Lowd’s “High School Dogs” (a prequel to her novella In a Dog’s World) is now online at Deep Sky Anchor, and issue 2 of A Glimpse of Anthropomorphic Literature is now available, featuring stories and book reviews from several FWG members.

In crowdfunding news, there are 21 days left in Jess E. Owen’s Kickstarter for By the Silver Wind, Book IV of the Summer King Chronicles.

If you’re into gaming/RPGs, check out Paul Kidd’s A Fistful of Quidloos and Heroes of Morhost, and if film/comic reviews are your thing, Dronon has published several recently at Flayrah. Like poetry too? Check out Weasel’s poem “Midnight’s Starving” in Yellow Chair Review.

(Members: Want your news here? Start a thread in our Member News forum!)

Market News

Upcoming deadlines: The anthology Gods With Fur closes May 1, and issue 3 of A Glimpse of Anthropomorphic Literature is open until May 15. For conbook deadlines, we have five conbook listings with deadlines ranging from April 15 to May 1; check out all the details at our conbook page.

New markets: Poets, get your work in before April 22 for the second [adjective][species] poetry collection. Full guidelines here. For short stories, we have a new listing for The Society Pages, an anthology seeking stories exploring “civilized furry society.” The deadline is June 1, but you must submit a query before sending your story; see their guidelines for full information.

Remember to keep an eye on our Calls for Submissions thread and our Publishing and Marketing forum for all the latest news and openings!

Guild News

Voting is now open for this year’s Cóyotl Awards! Voting ends July 1.

Want to hang out and talk shop with other furry writers? Come join us in the forum shoutbox for the Coffeehouse Chats, Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Eastern and Thursdays at 12 p.m. Eastern. More info on the Coffeehouse Chats is here. (Remember, our forums are open to everyone, not just FWG members. Come register and join the conversation!)

Elsewhere on the Internet, we have a Goodreads group with a bookshelf featuring books by our members. Feel free to add any members’ books we’ve missed so far (see the instructions here on how to do that). We also have a Telegram group, and you can find more info on that and a link in this thread.

Remember, we’re always open for guest blog post submissions from FWG members — it’s a great way to help out fellow writers. See our guidelines for the details.

Have a creative and successful month! If you have news, suggestions, or other feedback to share, send an email to furwritersguild@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

More new stuff found at WonderCon last month: Houndstooth is a new self-published comic written by Kristen Brown and illustrated by Sam Rusk in a monochrome wash style. “Houndstooth follows the adventures of Bandit, an orphaned boy who exists in an animal’s world, along with his fellow human and best friend, Pan. The only adventure Bandit has ever wanted to have, are the ones printed inside his favorite books. But fate brought an unwanted adventure to his feet when Pan is kidnapped! Her only hope of rescue is Bandit and a couple of unlikely tag-alongs.” Issues are being released bi-monthly, both in physical (paper) form and on-line at Comixology.

image c. 2016 by Sam Rusk

Tonight on unfurled we discuss a man innocent of charges being claimed guilty anyway, a turtle gets the rock star treatment and a boat being publicly named! Listen in and enjoy our sultry tones molesting your ears. Episode -43 - Fuck a door

This is the second of three days of animal-themed poetry by Renee Carter Hall. Renee is curating the 2016 [adjective][species] Poetry Collection, which is open for submissions until 22 April.

Comanche

I had seen enough of battle.
Again and again I had carried the man into the fighting,
into the storm men make that nothing survives.
Now the thunder was gone, and their bodies
lay scattered, pale and still, across the field.
Only the river moved.

I went toward it–careful,
so careful, where I put my hooves.
At last I stood by the water, too exhausted
even to swish the flies from my wounds.
I felt nothing.
I was ready to die; I was hoping
it might be as if I were a foal again,
before I knew bit and bridle,
before I carried any weight.

Then they found me.
And they called me brave.

They made me remember.
Every parade, every ceremony took me back,
made my scars burn like half-healed wounds.
When they cheered me, I heard only
the cries of the fallen.

They gave me the best of everything,
made me the pet of the cavalry,
the mascot of the fort, the symbol
of courage and honor in defeat–
never thinking that all I wanted

was sunlight on my mane,
a mare to groom with gentle teeth,
the scent of grass instead of fear and gunpowder,
and the peace of that slow, cool river
to wash all the blood away.

February 1: Groundhog Goes to the FoodMart

Mrs. Fox, pushing her cart
in her best Sunday dress, string of pearls
at her red throat, reminds him
of the tenderness of spring chickens,
gives him a smile, white and sharp.

The Rabbit family crowds the cereal aisle.
As he chooses a plain cylinder of oatmeal,
Mother Rabbit says hello, steers the small talk
toward the petunias she’s planning
to brighten up the burrow,
the rows of cabbages and carrots
Father’s mapping out for the field.
The kits tug on Groundhog’s overalls, eyes bright,
whispering to him, one more snow,
one more afternoon of sledding, one more fort,
one more snowbunny with mittens for ears.

Sleepy-eyed Bear shuffles in, only nods
when anyone speaks, gets in line
with a quart of milk and a canned ham.
His bleary gaze meets Groundhog’s,
and he adds a can of coffee, economy size.

Groundhog waits in line, stares at the tabloids
while the chattering squirrel cracks gum
and rings up the shoppers ahead.
He feels their eyes on him, all watching as if
he could melt the gray slush outside with a glance,
could give them warmth and new life on a whim.

Even in this harsh fluorescent light,
he will not look at his feet.

(Readers can find more of my poetry, on various subjects, at http://www.reneecarterhall.com/poetry.html)

Cathair Apocalypse: “A post-apocalyptic drama where humans are extinct and cats have risen to rule the wasteland left behind by their former masters.” That’s the description from the creators of this new full-color comic book series — which combines photo-realistic GGI backgrounds and props with actual photos of the creators’ cats! It’s up on line at Taptastic, plus the creators have their own web site where you can purchase the first collection (By Cutlass Or Corsage) as well as t-shirt and other goodies.  Not made out of cat hair, thankfully!

image c. 2016 Cathair Apocalypse

​Hello Papabear!

I'm in quite a dilemma here, and I will try to make this short and sweet.

I commissioned a seemingly talented yet not very well known fursuit maker for a fullsuit in April of 2015. We agreed in writing of a deadline for December of 2015. I was given excuses all up to a month before the deadline, then was told that I was not going to be receiving my product. I understand, life happens. I was cordial and kind and gave no issue. It is now 3 months past deadline and I still have absolutely no update on the progress. I wholeheartedly believe it has not even begun. I was not told of supplies being purchased or work beginning on it.

Now, I don't mind waiting. I really don't. My issue is, that I have now come to learn a few concerning facts after I have commissioned them. I am behind a list of 20+ other paid off fullsuit/partial commissions, all of which seem to have no significant progress for months now, as shown by their public queue and social media. Instead, they are working on side projects that are not in the queue, namely pre-mades so they can make a little more money. I have also learned that they have a pretty bad habit of frequently asking urgently for money because of emergencies, yet buy unnecessary luxury items that same day such as art, plushies, or expensive fursuits, as proven by a few people. I have also spoken to people personally who have had bad experiences with this person. I have lost a lot of trust in this maker because of this.

They also have a reputation of refusing refunds in full, or adding on "service fees" or refusing chunks of the refund for "work completed" with no proof or real basis.

I have proof of all payments sent, along with corresponding messages to go with them. I have proof of commissioning the fursuit, the deadline, the missed deadline, them admitting that I will not be receiving my product at the intended time.

I have not yet asked for a refund, as this person has a reputation for becoming hostile and blacklisting and creating loads of drama once a refund is requested. I have personally been witness to this. I want to make this as smooth and quick as possible. I would like to take this to small claims court, but my only issue is, we live in completely different states quite far apart and I am unsure of what to do to keep them from going off the deep end and me losing out on money that I trusted to them, when I fully believe that none of it has even went to supplies or creation of the fursuit. I just don't know where to go from here.

Any advice is greatly and sincerely appreciated.
 
Anonymous (age 24)
 
* * *
 
Dear Furiend,
 
Sadly, what you are experiencing is nothing new and is a good example of what not to do when commissioning a fursuit. Sounds to ol’ bear you only heard about this maker’s bad rep after you started experiencing problems. Did you not research this person before sending money? That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was not getting a written receipt for the money you sent, although it sounds like you have some email proof, which is something, at least. Mistake number three was sending, apparently, ALL the money to the fursuit maker up front. Respectable fursuit makers only ask for a deposit to pay for materials and then ask for the rest upon delivery of the completed fursuit. Now you are not only out part of the money but all of it. It has been suggested by some furries that one solution would be to set up an escrow account, but this seems needlessly complicated and also means the fursuit maker would not have money for materials at first.
 
You mention small claims court. That’s a good idea, but, as you noted, works best when you and the maker are in the same state. When we’re talking different states, then it gets hard, especially since pretty much every fursuit maker I have heard of does not operate an incorporated business. That leaves you with having to get to the maker’s state and suing there, which is not very cost effective, or trying to sue out of state. From the legal sites I have looked over, intrastate small claims judgments are mostly restricted to cases regarding things like real estate, property damage, or suing an actual business that is an incorporated entity (here's some information about small claims in other states: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter9-2.html). Again, the informality of traditional fursuit commissioning makes this severely problematic, as far as I know. Then again, I’m not an attorney (anyone?); you could hire an attorney, but good ones will cost you as much as the fursuit or more.
 
So, then we get into the subject of reviews. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if there were a review site such as Angie’s List or Yelp for furries? Turns out, there are. They are still in the process of being developed, but one is here on Tumblr http://makersdatabase.tumblr.com/, and another is being worked on here: http://fursuitreview.khat.us/ with a more up-to-date version on FurAffinity:  http://www.furaffinity.net/user/fursuitreview/. Papabear is pleased that there are furries out there going to the trouble and time to try and help their fellows in what can be a frustrating process.
 
Here are a couple possible ways to proceed:

1. Try the “let’s start over” approach. Contact the fursuit maker and suggest that you begin the commission anew as if you were just now asking for it. Ask them to print, sign, and mail you a receipt acknowledging your payment and specifying a completion date for the project. Since you are of legal age, this can be considered a legal contract of sorts. Have them include in the contract exactly what you will be provided for the completed project. Tell them you want a realistic deadline, and that you will be patient and wait for that date before taking any other steps.
2. If you just want this debacle over, contact the maker and tell them you are tired of waiting and wish a full refund. Tell them that if they give you any lip about it, that this will be reflected in your review on one or both of the above review sites. However, if they are cooperative, you will not post a negative review of their work and let bygones be bygones. BUT! If they give you the money back (or if they don’t) and begin trashing you all over the Web, then you will compose a scathing review of their work and warn people not to commission with them or else risk being attacked by this unprofessional fursuit maker.

 
Always start off trying to be nice as possible and giving the person a benefit of a doubt, but don’t be afraid to fight back. If enough people do, this fursuit maker will soon become so notorious that they will never receive any more commissions, and that will be deservedly so. It really irritates me that there are such dishonorable people out there, but there it is.
 
Good luck,
Papabear​

This is the first of three days of animal-themed poetry by Renee Carter Hall. Renee is curating the 2016 [adjective][species] Poetry Collection, which is open for submissions until 22 April.

Panthera tigris

Your stripes on my skin are foolish,
garish colors on a flattened face–
you were never meant to walk on two legs,
to sacrifice your rolling-smoke stride
for my half-falling, unbalanced gait.

I will not flatter myself to be
even your poor imitation,
your ridiculous reflection,
no matter how much I long for your form.

I will borrow your fire instead,
the deep, fierce light of your eyes.
I will learn how to crouch and wait
and trust that the right moment will come.

I will learn to hunt
what I need to survive.

Grizzly

How he rested
his massive head on the log —
the easy curve of his claws —

I have never seen anything
so casually powerful
yet so open to endearment,
so likeable in the eyes,
no feline “I’m beyond you” gaze
that lions and jaguars cherish —

just bear,
a thousand pounds of bear,
all weight at rest —
and it’s enough.

Lord Tiger’s Answer

The question, he said, is not
why some of my kind
prey upon man.
It is why all of us do not.
Your hide is thin, your flesh
is soft, you are blind as
wet cubs, and the wind
says nothing to you.
Men stumble like chital fawns
through this jungle,
bleating their complaints
for any hunter to hear.
Why, then? Not pity:
We feast on the young,
the unsteady, the trembling;
they are as gifts to the hungry.
It is not, even, the weapons you carry
that crack the sky with their fire.
No.
It is your very strangeness
that closes our jaws–
of this earth, but not walking in it,
you carry the movement of worlds
in your stride, carry the heavens
in your gaze, carry so many swirling
confusions in your heads,
where we are bone and teeth and claws.
Easy meat, oh yes,
but it sits sour in our bellies,
fouls our breath,
and muddies our minds.

(Readers can find more of my poetry, on various subjects, at http://www.reneecarterhall.com/poetry.html)

WagzTail had a live show at TFF2016! We had a decent turnout, answered audience questions, and engaged in mild insanity. We recorded it too, so those of you who couldn’t make it can hear what you missed!

Metadata and Credits WagzTail Show @ TFF 2016

Runtime: 56:26m

Cast: Wolfin, Levi

Editor: Levi

Format: 128kbps ABR split-stereo MP3 Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0. Podcast thumbnail by Levi.

 

WagzTail Live @ TFF 2016 - WagzTail had a live show at TFF2016! We had a decent turnout, answered audience questions, and engaged in mild insanity. We recorded it too, so those of you who couldn't make it can hear what you missed!

WagzTail had a live show at TFF2016! We had a decent turnout, answered audience questions, and engaged in mild insanity. We recorded it too, so those of you who couldn’t make it can hear what you missed!

Metadata and Credits WagzTail Show @ TFF 2016

Runtime: 56:26m

Cast: Wolfin, Levi

Editor: Levi

Format: 128kbps ABR split-stereo MP3 Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0. Podcast thumbnail by Levi.

 

WagzTail Live @ TFF 2016 - WagzTail had a live show at TFF2016! We had a decent turnout, answered audience questions, and engaged in mild insanity. We recorded it too, so those of you who couldn't make it can hear what you missed!

My Pony, by Liam Rector follows Shining River’s article about cowboy poetry yesterday. It is from Cowboy Poetry Matters, From Abilene to the Mainstream, Contemporary Cowboy Writing, edited by Robert McDowell, Story Line Press, Ashland, Oregon, 2000.

 

My Pony

Coming back to you, my pony, whom I had to leave
To make money, I proffer up the dire smidgen,
The torn thing I managed to lug back with me,

Along with the big bucks: World is made of bologna.
Like the pressed woods of my ascetic bookcase,
Like the traffic jam full of air conditioning

And grieving music, world is pressed together
As if my impossibility, my pony, as by poetry…
How long I have loved thee to see you now grown old

Though still able—under all this weight—
To put your foot to the far off, to the going…
Carry me now, my pony. Carry us to where we buried

Those Clydesdales who once in soggy spring,
In early morning, plowed those furrows which fed us
Before I could no longer afford the farm.

I think we laid them down, me scrounging money
For the backhoe, over there in the west field.
I think we should go over now to the west field…

And the cats who used to run with us back
In the olde days: Sartre, Huck, and the others—
None lived to see fourteen, though all stayed relatively

Long for cat lives—blessings to them now, my pony ;
Blessings to them who used to run and sit with us!
And will I ever get to hold my father as he dies

And will he release me then from the fear of dying?
Not likely. Probably not, my pony.
Probably much more mulling through this membrane

Which passes so quickly, which stuns me and makes me
Wonder how much longer we’ve both got here to ride…
Ride on while we’re here, my pony, and next spring

I’l bring Virginia, whom I’ve left back in the city.
I’ll bring her to you for her safekeeping.
She needs the hurl and arc these fields have put in us,

Out looking: she needs the kind of joking past grieving
We’ve come to together, thrown through the pressed world
Where I went off to earn being hers and yours, your Liam.

​Hello Papabear, 

So I have a question... My family is religious, we're Christians and I am religious along with them... but my problem with this is that because we follow the bible... anything except for normal human, male goes with female sex is a big no no... I am transgender and furry... though only one other person knows...

My fursona, Silvia the orca, is part of me and my personality. I roleplay but I'm worried that my parents will only see the bad side of the fandom... if I come out as furry the other problem is that I'd have to come out as trans as well and I know I would never be looked at the same again...

Please help D:
From Silvia (age 15)
 
* * *
 
Hi, Silvia,
 
I was going to write you a long spiel about coming out to Christian parents (or else link you to earlier articles), but I found someone who did it better. Read this article http://www.gaychristian101.com/Coming-Out.html by a conservative Christian that is most excellent. Among his points are that God loves you, whether or not your are gay or trans or whatever, that parents often misunderstand the Bible, and that if you are in a bad situation you might not want to come out just yet. Read it, it will help.
 
As for being furry, you might conceal this in addition to not coming out (if you so choose), or you can explain to your parents that this is just a fun hobby and is no worse than watching a Disney movie such as, say, The Rescuers. You might also try joining the Christian Furs at http://christianfurs.net/. You don’t say whether or not you are still a Christian, or if you have turned to some other belief system, but do know you can certainly be both a Christian and a furry, just as you can be a transgender Christian.
 
Please take a look at these links and let me know if you have further questions. Good luck!
 
Hugs,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

La Saga d’Atlas & Axis, t.3, by Pau.
Roubaix, France, Ankama Éditions, November 2015, hardcover €12.90 (60 + [3] pages).

Once again, Lex Nakashima & I present our conspiracy to get you to read French animalière bandes dessinées that aren’t likely to be published in English.

Has it really been 2 ½ years since I reviewed tomes 1 & 2 for Flayrah? Well, Jean-Marc Pau has been busy. Not only has he written & drawn this volume, he has made a “movie” of the whole series. If you look closely, you can find a little animation in it. The 3:25-minute “movie” starts with images from the first two albums; tome 3 starts at 2:09 minutes.

I described La Saga d’Atlas & Axis as “Their world looks like a doggy version of Astérix & Obélix …” Cutely drawn but without the humor. The setting, allowing for the anthropomorphic animals, is around the 9th & 10 centuries when the Vikings were taking over Armorica so thoroughly that it’s been called Normandy ever since. This series also differs from Astérix & Obélix in being one continuous adventure rather than standalone albums.

This tome 3 begins right where tome 2 ended in 2013. To repeat my translation of the blurb of the first two volumes:

In the world of Pongeo, where all the animals talk and walk on two paws, Atlas and Axis are two mutts of very different characters and pedigrees: the first is intelligent and rational, while the second is controlled more by his feelings. One day when the two companions return to their village for a festival, they discover it ravaged by the cruel Vikiens, bloody brutes from the North who pillage and kill all who fall under their claws. So begins the saga of Atlas and Axis, the astonishing epic of two friends overflowing with courage, who leave to brave the great North to avenge their folk. In the grand tradition of adventuring duos, prepare to live a story funny and terrible, tender and epic …

I thought that Atlas is a golden retriever, but the dialogue establishes that he’s an Afghan hound. Axis is a mutt; mostly a terrier mix. Atlas is the cool, thoughtful one of the pair; Axis is the hothead who rushes into trouble.

To quote again from my review of tome 2:

But after only a couple of days [in Miel’s tavern], they can’t help overhearing a noisy argument between two traveling scholars. The older claims that dogs are evolved from wolves, while the other insists that dogs were created by the god Toby in his own image. The believer in evolution offers to outfit Atlas and Axis for an expedition to bring back proof of the Tarses, a legendary missing link tribe halfway between wolves and dogs, which incidentally is connected to the magic bowl of Khimera. The quest leads to what is clearly central Asia, a canine Genghis Khan, and living mammoths and dinosaurs. The volume ends with Atlas and Axis impressed into a barbarian fleet en route to conquer a thinly-disguised Constantinople. Obviously the story is to be continued.

Volume 3 begins with Atlas & Axis learning that they’ve been tricked. Their canine armada isn’t heading for Constantinople and rich loot. It’s going to the fortress of the rival Maka raiders, to kill them all and annex their territory. “We’re finally going to annihilate the Makas and take their lands. No more of their pillaging and unpunished murders! Today marks the end of these criminals! This time, we’ve got the larger army… and if you’re tempted to spare them, think of our assassinated families and our pillaged homes! Remember them? Are we going to let these murderers see another day!? NO! It’s now or never! To the Maka fortress! Don’t take prisoners… I don’t want to see a single Maka alive! And we’ll take their lands!” (pages 5-6) As far as Atlas & Axis are concerned, one tribe of ruthless (and penniless) barbarian dog warriors is no better than the other.

The first 22 pages are Viking longboats landing and the siege of the Maka fortress. Attacks! Arrows! Sword killings! Beheadings! Boiling oil! Battering rams! (with live rams tied to them) Catapults! Battle axes! Atlas’ & Axis’ side kills deserters so the sneak away during the battle, killing anyone who comes after them.

They are successful, sort of, until they meet Vulk, the king of the Makas. (That’s him on the cover.) He’s not a dog; he’s a wolf. (You can’t tell the difference in Pau’s cartoony art style.) He sneaked out of the doomed fortress through a secret passage. He tells Atlas & Axis how he was a homeless wanderer who gradually collected dog robbers and built them into an unstoppable army with himself as their king. He was a bloody conqueror (I’m sorry I can’t include one panel in the review; you never saw such a berserk, blood-soaked – but cute – cartoon wolf warrior before), but he was fair to his own people (as long as they paid their taxes). Atlas & Axis leave Vulk to his destiny, and after several more adventures while getting further and further away, they are totally lost – but in sight of what is probably a clue to the magic bowl and lost dog-wolf mix lost tribe that is their original goal. A caption promises that tome 4 will be the climax and final volume of the series.

If you haven’t started La saga d’Atlas & Axis yet, get it from the beginning rather than jumping into the middle of the story. It’s a funny-animal fantasy, but it’s also good history in presenting how northern France came to be settled by the Vikings in the 9th & 10th centuries. The animalicity is mostly in the vocabulary; the dogs call their wives and girlfriends bitches and their children puppies. The peasantry is helpless prey animals like rabbits, goats, and sheep, and the dogs including Atlas & Axis casually oppress (eat) them. You won’t find anything like this in American cartoons.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Buy on BD Gest

Over at Animation Scoop they have word about a new TV series adapted from Dreamworks Animation’s successful (some might say keester-saving) movie Home. “Developed by Ryan Crego (Sanjay and Craig, Shrek Forever After) and Thurop Van Orman (The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack), and executive produced by Ryan Crego, DreamWorks Animation’s Home: Adventures With Tip & Oh, an all-new Netflix Original Series, answers the question: What happens after a misfit alien conquers Earth, befriends an adventurous teen girl named Tip and together they save the day? Picking up where the hit 2015 animated film left off and building upon their enduring friendship, this animated buddy comedy follows fearless Tip and overenthusiastic alien Oh, as they navigate the combined human and alien culture they live in, finding adventure everywhere they go… The first season will be available exclusively to Netflix members in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux, and France beginning July 29.” Heard it here did you.

image c. 2016 Dreamworks Animation

In the United States,
in Canada and Mexico,
Argentina, and Australia,
out beyond the screaming cities,
beyond electric lights that have stolen your night sky,
there is our other country.

From the people and the land
and the animals,
there comes a clear voice
telling stories of courage and fear,
success and great loss,
the man and the horse,
the cattle and the coyote,
the present and the past.

Gather ’round,
listen in,
and cowboy poetry
will soon begin.

Cowboy poetry is a unique category of poetry which comes from the life and culture of the diverse people who work and live primarily in the environment of the cattle industry of a handful of nations. Theirs is a lifestyle created by that industry and by the land on which they live and work. Much cowboy poetry is about animals—their behavior, their problems, their strength and beauty, and how cowboys and ranching family members interact with them. They tell stories of animals both real and imagined.

Although many cowboy poems may be found in books, the real strength of cowboy poetry is found in the performance of it—the recitations, and the music that sometimes accompanies it. Sometimes the poetry is shared between just a few individuals when the work of the day is done, and sometimes it is shared with the world, in books, on television and online. Cowboy poetry comes from the minds of individuals, not from the urban American entertainment industry. A few poets have become prominent in the cowboy poetry community and have made some relatively small financial benefit from their writing and performance. For the great majority, their participation is done for the love of the art. In that way, cowboy poets and their fans are like the furry community. And like the members of the furry community, cowfolk have their own cons which are known simply as cowboy poetry gatherings.

In 1985 the first cowboy poetry gathering was organized by western American folklore researcher and author Hal Cannon. With the help of many others around the west, he held the gathering in Elko, Nevada, and the first one drew a “few hundred” people. Since then it has increased to attendance numbers around 8,000, with events spread out over several locations in Elko over the span of the entire last week in January every year. Other cowboy poetry gatherings have been organized in many other states, along with smaller events, commonly held during the last week in April, officially designated as Cowboy Poetry Week. The month of April is known in the literary community as National Poetry Month.

Just like furry, there is some history behind today’s cowboy poetry.

Craig Miller, in his essay “Nature and Cowboy Poetry” contained in the book Cowboy Poets and Cowboy Poetry, University of Illinois Press, 2000, observes that historically there are three main categories of cowboy poetry. The early days, he names “The Old Paradigm: Nature Equals Chaos, Civilization Equals Order.” This beginning of cowboy poetry began after the American Civil War, primarily in the 1870s before the railroads and telegraph came to western America. Miller describes the cowboy poetry of this time thus:

Poems of this period are characterized by enormity of landscape, natural disasters that test individuals and groups, and a correlation between nature and the devil. […] few collections of cowboy poetry (from that time, ed.) exist without reference to that dreaded occupational hazard, the stampede […] In these poems, herds of domestic cattle represent raw energy ready to explode at the slightest spark.

 The second historic category that Miller introduces is “A New Paradigm: Nostalgia Ushers in a Growing Respect for Nature.” As the West became settled in the late 1800s into the early 1900s, lands were extensively fenced, and railroads and telegraphs connected distant cities and towns, the cowboy’s way of life began to change, to become a little restricted, less free. He offers this example from an important early collection of cowboy poetry and songs : Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, (1910) John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, Macmilllan, publisher, 1986. In this excerpt from “The Last Longhorn“—which is attributed to frontier judge R.W. Hall of Amarillo, Texas—a nostalgic, talking longhorn steer describes the passing of the Old West and the end of the old cowboy life:

“I remember back in the seventies,
Full many summers past,
There was grass and water plenty,
But it was too good to last.
I little dreamed what would happen
Some twenty summers hence,
When the nester came with his wife, his kids,
His dogs, and his barbed-wire fence.”

Miller’s final time period he names “The Old Paradigm Inverted: The Chaos of Civilization Becomes the Major Threat to the Environment and to Cowboy Culture.” The enormous increase in population in the United States in the twentieth century brought good and bad results for those in the cattle ranching life. Demand for beef kept the cowboy’s work necessary and relevant despite increasing mechanization of food production. Higher paying jobs in cities pulled young people away from the ranching life and culture. Laws and regulations regarding land use began to restrict the rangelands. The entertainment industry and published literature created unrealistic mythologies and stereotypes of the cowboy and the culture. In the second half of the twentieth century cowboy poetry began to include themes of environment destruction, foreign wars, and modern ideas of the value and relevance of wild animals.

The Animals in Cowboy Poetry

Horses have played an important role in human civilization from the ancient empires of Egypt up to modern nations. Today in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia, the mounted rider still is important to the managing of domestic animal herds. Horses are the subject of many cowboy poems. They are both the blessing and the curse to the cowboy. Though it is less common today, in the past cowboys often had to break wild horses for the cowboys to use as working horses. They could be unpredictably wild and violent, as we read in this excerpt from Ham Hamilton’s “Rough Rider” from One Cowboy’s Roundup, Prairie Poetry and Proverbs, Frontier Publishing,1995:

A horse’s name usually told you a bunch
About how people viewed his demeaner.
“Cyclone” and “Storm” and “Tornado”
Were in the class with old “Steamer”.

 But I watched close for the subtle names
Of “Lady”, “Sweetheart”, “Beauty”, and sorts.
Some of those gals could rattle your bones
And shake you right out of your shorts.

The cowboy’s horse is his most important tool, and partner, in his work. Good horses respond well to the rider’s directions and they often actually know what moves are needed in certain situations. They may not be pretty but they get the job done, as Wallace McRae writes in “Red Pup, Bonine, and Owl” Cowboy Curmudgeon and Other Poems, Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1992:

I go to some horse shows every year,
And usually come home feeling foul,
And slightly ashamed of my stay-at-home mounts:
Red Pup, Bonine, and Owl.

 The arena horses are shining and proud.
Their ears are always alert.
While Red Pup, Justin, Bailey, and Snip
Are slovens, in sweat and in dirt…

…But could the show horses keep up with my boys,
Doing their chores on the ranch?
Could they make the circle, work herd, drag the calves?
Would an honest day’s work make them blanch?

 …So Hail! to the Red Pups, the Bonines, and Owls.
Hail! to the equine wage slave.
In this beholder’s eyes you’re beauties.
You never took as much as you gave.

In the cowboy’s world, loss and death is never far away, and there are many ways that a cowboy or his horse can lose their lives, or simply be parted from one another, possibly never to see each other again. Whether one is a man or woman in the cattle industry, one learns at an early age to stuff down and rationalize away natural feelings of tenderness and grief toward animals because such emotions can interfere in the rough work that is the livestock industry. This is a strong cultural tradition that continues from long ago. Some contemporary cowboy poems speak to the feelings of loss that can come upon a man or woman when their relationship with a special horse is disrupted. Here, a few excerpts from Liam Rector’s “My Pony”, from Cowboy Poetry Matters, From Abilene to the Mainstream, Contemporary Cowboy Writing, Story Line Press, 2000:

Coming back to you, my pony, whom I had to leave
To make money, I proffer up the dire smidgen,
The torn thing I managed to lug back with me,

 …How long I have loved thee to see you now grown old
Though still able—under all this weight—
To put your foot to the far off, to the going…

 …Ride on while we’re here, my pony, and next spring

 I’ll bring Virginia, whom I’ve left back in the city.
I’ll bring her to you for her safekeeping.
She needs the hurl and arc these fields have put in us,

Out looking : she needs the kind of joking past grieving
We’ve come to together, thrown through the pressed world
Where I went off to earn being hers and yours, your Liam.

Cattle have hard lives, and in cowboy poetry they are the source of curses, despair, and comedy. Out on the rangelands, they are independent, ornery, and vulnerable. Just getting them started in life can be an epic struggle. Cowboy poet Baxter Black has become a living legend in his community, particularly for his humorous poetry. Here are some excerpts from his “Fetal Eye View” from Croutons on a Cowpie, Volume II, Cowboy Poetry by Baxter Black, Coyote Cowboy Company, 1992. A calf being born is speaking to the humans assisting in his birth:

“Say, anybody got a light? It sure is dark in here
     and tighter’n the skin on Polish sausage.
For nine long months I’ve trusted Mom but now she’s pulled the plug!
     A pure and simple case of double crossage!

 I’m not sure what I really am or even what I’m for?
     To breed? Or do they plan to milluk us?
I’ve checked myself the best I could . . . a bull calf’s what I think,
     but, heck, that might be my umbilicus!

 . . .Git out the way! I’m bailin’ out! Too bad we met like this
     ‘Cause you might be alright, at least I think . .
And to show there’s no hard feelin’s, belly up here to the bag
   and I’ll buy you and all yer friends a drink!

Domestic cats don’t get invited on cattle drives, as you may have suspected. They hang around barns and ranch houses, keeping the rodent population in check, but there are a few poems that include them, though not as the main subjects. In my research I have found them in Vess Quinlan’s “The Barn Cats”, Linda M. Hasselstrom’s “What the Falcon Said”, and Liam Rector’s “My Pony”.

Dogs are necessary companions to the cowboy. They are not pets, and they too have rough lives. Cowboy poet Ed Brown, in his “Cowdogs”, in New Cowboy Poetry, A Contemporary Gathering, Gibbs-Smith Publisher,1990, wrote:

Now some cowdogs have pedigrees
           And other claims to fame.
But here a cowdog gets two things:
         A whipping and a name.

And we don’t just give them a name
         From a book upon the shelves.
We use them, and if they stay around,
         We let them name themselves. . .

…Backhoe fills the yard with holes;
      Nixon covers them up;
Welfare hasn’t done a thing
       Since he was just a pup.

Buzzard eats the darndest things;
       Leppie’s mother never claimed him.
If we had a dog that could work cows
       We wouldn’t know what to name him.

Wild predators were once common enemies of the cowboy and the herds but the wolf, bear, cougar, and coyote were drastically reduced in number in North America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Naturally they do appear as subjects of cowboy poetry. Bears get mentioned in Ham Hamilton’s “Bear” and here in Jesse Smith’s “Message in the Wind” from New Cowboy Poetry, A Contemporary Gathering, Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1990

. . . Yer old pony’s eyes are a-lookin’,
       his ears workin’ forward and back.
All of a sudden you feel his hide tighten,
     And a little hump come into his back. . . 

. . .But you know yer old hoss ain’t a-lying,
     He’s as good’ne as you’ll ever find.
And you know that old pony’s tryin’
     To warn ya ’bout somethin’ in time.

Well, ya look real hard where he’s lookin’,
     His eyes are plum fixed in a stare,
Then ya see what he’s seein’,
     A cub and an old mama bear.. .

 A cougar, felis concolor, makes an appearance in Virginia Bennett’s “The Lion”, and a deer in Floyd A. Jenson’s “The Day I Roped a Deer”, and a falcon in Linda Hasselstrom’s “What the Falcon Said”. Accounts of wolves are uncommon in cowboy poetry but the coyote is popular. An old poem attributed to Robert Fletcher is “The Belled Coyote”, telling a likely fictional story about catching a coyote in a trap and tying a small bell around his neck and letting him go. The cowboy later takes pity on the coyote because the bell is always warning away the coyote’s prey, and so he accurately shoots the bell off the collar.

Four contemporary poems, Buck Ramsey’s “Songdog”, Wallace McRae’s “The Coyote”, Eric Sprado’s “Our Range”, and Linda Hussa’s “Under the Hunter Moon” bring in more modern ideas about the relationship of humans and coyotes. The McRae and Sprado poems are considerations of how humans and coyotes share the land. Hussa’s “Under the Hunter Moon” tells of how she must kill a coyote who has attacked a flock of sheep. Ramsey’s “Songdog” found in Cowboy Poetry Matters, From Abilene to the Mainstream, Contemporary Cowboy Writing, Story Line Press, 2000 is more friendly to the coyote:

When young I saw a coyote spring in air
And arc and tumble in a backward flip,
Then chase his tail and wallow in his joy,
Exalting with his private yap and yip.

 Caught up, I sprang from hiding to my horse
And somersaulted backward to the ground,
Then rolled and wallowed in the flow’rs and grass
And mocked the private rapture of his sound.

There is much more to learn about cowboy poetry than the small fragments I have shared with you here. There is much more history behind modern cowboy poetry, and forms of cowboy poetry can be found in several other nations. In the month of April in 2015 I posted a series of essay excerpts by prominent authors, reports of two cowboy poetry events which I attended, and twenty-four poems with animal themes in my DreamWidth journal which are available for you to read beginning with this post: http://shining-river.dreamwidth.org/19085.html.

Included among those posts is a list of books that I have referenced in this essay, and several websites. Very soon I will post approximately twenty more cowboy poems. For those of you living in the United States, Canada, and even Australia, you may find live cowboy poetry (or bush poetry, if you are in Australia) events in many states/provinces, simply by an online search.

The cowboy community and the furry community have some significant differences and, most likely, little in common. The majority of us have only seen the cowboy’s world through the fiction and fantasy of popular, mass-produced entertainment. It requires some sincere effort to look beyond that. If you do so, because this is poetry, a language form expressive of emotion, you may find something in cowboy poetry that appeals to you in your deep emotional core, as this writer has found.

Look,
there is a canyon,
a grand canyon,
an unbridgeable canyon between
those cowboys
and those animals.

But we can see
and they can see
the stars in the constellations,
those man and animal line figures,
the star-stippled spirits
of us all.

 

 

 

 

 

Gideon & BuckHopper

“The San Francisco Furry Film Festival” was a fantasy article inspired by many potential reasons for why it could happen for real.  A movie journalist even told me it was an idea “way past due!”

Once put together, it could have built-in audience at any con.  However, the practical work of organizing a festival wouldn’t be too different from making a small con.  With such a special niche, that puts it out of reach unless a team of dedicated movie lovers gather around the idea.  That hasn’t happened yet… but 2016 has brought amazing Furry movie events.  There were sold-out furry screenings for Zootopia, and the furry-made documentary ‘Fursonas‘ won unprecedented notice on the festival circuit.

A furry film fest isn’t so far-fetched.  Here’s hoping it happens.  Meanwhile, below are reactions from Changa, video programmer for Califur and admin of Furry.today (check the site for great videos!) And then Fred Patten.

– Patch

From Changa:

One of the reasons I started furry.today was to keep myself constantly looking for new furry shorts and animations and keep track of them for things like our Parties and the animation festivals I had been putting on at Califur. Here was the play list for the Animation Festivals we showed in 2015.  Warning: Lots of embeds.  I mostly put that page up not linked anywhere as it was my way of handing out a link to people asking me what specific films were after the con.  A dedicated Furry film festival is a great idea (not sure of the logistics.) From your article, I haven’t seen Finsterworld but was aware of Furry Force – they were at Califur, they received the Ursa Major award and it was rather awesome. I do know about your site and it’s cool that you noticed my video blog.

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Furry Film Festival

The suggestion of a Furry Film Festival makes my mind overflow with potential titles. Such a festival could easily be filled by excellent but obscure features (many foreign).  That would have the advantages of probably being cheaper to rent than those by large American studios like Disney and DreamWorks (which might snub a Furry Film Festival even if it was willing to pay really expensive rentals), and more enticing to the public that might be overly familiar with big American studio “classics” anyway.  Here are some suggestions (emphasizing what I would like to see):

American Features
Mr. Bug Goes to Town, directed by Dave Fleischer. 78 minutes. December 5, 1941.

Bill and Coo, directed by Dean Riesner. 61 minutes. March 28, 1948.

Gay Purr-ee, directed by Abe Levitow. 105 minutes. October 24, 1962.

Shinbone Alley, directed by John David Wilson. 85 minutes. April 7, 1971.

Fritz the Cat, directed by Ralph Bakshi. 80 minutes. April 12, 1972.

Coonskin, directed by Ralph Bakshi. 89 minutes. August 20, 1975.

An American Tail, directed by Don Bluth. 80 minutes. November 21, 1986.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, directed by Barry Caldwell and six others. 80 minutes. March 11, 1992.

Once Upon a Forest, directed by Charles Grosvenor. 72 minutes. June 18, 1993.

Balto, directed by Simon Wells. 77 minutes. December 22, 1995.

The Nut Job, directed by Peter Lepeniotis. 86 minutes. January 17, 2014.

Foreign Features
Puss in Boots, directed by Kimio Yabuki. 80 minutes. March 18, 1969. (Japan)

Blinky Bill, directed by Yoram Gross. 90 minutes. September 24, 1992. (Australia)

Felidae, directed by Michael Schaak. 78 minutes. November 3, 1994. (Germany)

Catnapped!, directed by Takashi Nakamura. 76 minutes. June 10, 1995. (Japan)

The Fearless Four, directed by Michael Coldewey, Eberhard Junkersdorf, and Jürgen Richter. 89 minutes. October 2, 1997. (Germany) NOTE: Warner Bros. has an excellent American dub of this, unreleased. Ask for it.

Help! I’m a Fish, directed by Stefan Fjeldmark and Michael Hegner. 83 minutes. October 6, 2000. (Denmark)

The Adventures of Renny the Fox, directed by Thierry Schiel. 90 minutes. August 12, 2005. (Luxembourg)

Blinky Bill’s White Christmas, directed by Guy Gross. 80 minutes. December 24, 2005. (Australia)

El Arca, directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini. 88 minutes. July 5, 2007. (Argentina)

Niko & the Way to the Stars, directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen. 81 minutes. October 10, 2008. (Finland)

Roadside Romeo, directed by Jugal Hansraj. 93 minutes. October 24, 2008. (India)

The Missing Lynx, directed by Raul Garcia and Manuel Sicilia. 100 minutes. December 25, 2008. (Spain)

Cinderella in the Far West, directed by Pascal Herold. 81 minutes. April 16, 2012. (France)

Bitter Lake, directed by Shay. 41 minutes. August 19, 2012. (France/Germany/Netherlands)

A Turtle’s Tale 2: Sammy’s Escape From Paradise, directed by Vincent Kesteloot and Ben Stassen. 93 minutes. August 15, 2012. (Belgium)

Delhi Safari, directed by Nikhil Advani. 92 minutes. October 19, 2012. (India)

The House of Magic, directed by Jeremy Degruson and Ben Stassen. 85 minutes. December 25, 2013. (Belgium)

Sheep and Wolves, directed by Andrei Galat. Scheduled for 2014; postponed to 2015. (Russia)

Shorts

This is a mixture of furry films, animation school student projects, and even commercial films. It only briefly suggests the wealth of material that exists.

Anthrocon 2014: Compass. 5:16

Chicken or the Egg. 3:22

Children of the Night. 4:20

Control Bear. 4:04

Crayon Dragon. 3:13

Kickball. 2:26

Merry XXXmas from Room 366. 2:55

RusFurence 2012: The Movie. 16:37

I could go on, but this gives you an idea of how enjoyable a Furry Film Festival could be. These particular films might not be available, but others could surely be found to fill a three-day festival program. Would it be best to schedule such a film festival in conjunction with a furry convention? I’ll leave the details to the festival organizers.

–Fred Patten

Hello Everyone!

This week we go into the past and talk about our lives. What mistakes in life and relationships have we made, and how did we move forward from these negative situations? How have we handled some of the lowest moments of our life and what did we learn from this? 

We also take a question about whether or not you should sacrifice your relationship for employment.

Please note that this episode contains some sensitive material and covers some topics that some listeners might view as being disturbing. Please review our show notes for timestamps in order to prevent any emotional or mental issues that you might experience. 

For more information, including a list of topics by timestamp, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 012 Collie's Follies and Metriko's Mistakes - A brief look into the lives and mistakes of Viro and Metriko.

Hello, Papabear,
 
I just had one hard question: every time I draw and post art online other furries hate it. Although I’m making a project for a comic book, they hated it and sometimes they report me for hate. I don’t hate furries, but all I did is draw humans the good guys and they’re Mexican soldiers fighting anthros, saving the world from evil creatures. Every time I post them, furries blocked me and some are cool with it. This has to do with my Christian religion and I always thought that furries are open minded but I believe they’re open minded but limited to things. Furries I talk to are aholes sometimes and I meet new friends on the fandom. And I meet Christian furries that do understand me.

Ronnie Alvarez (age 28)
 
* * *
 
Dear Ronnie,
 
Wow.
 
This is not a “hard question” at all. You are drawing art in which anthros (portrayed as evil) are being attacked and hated by human soldiers, apparently. Now, look at it from the other side, which you actually do in your letter. Don’t you hate it when people don’t like your art because it is homophilic (favors humans)? Don’t you feel persecuted for your Christian beliefs by feeling that the furries aren’t tolerant of what you are doing? Can you seriously not understand that furries would feel the same way about your art?
 
Complaining that furries aren’t open minded enough to accept your art is to misunderstand what it means to be open minded. Open minded doesn’t mean accepting hatred. Furries don’t dislike you because you are Christian (as you noted, there are Christian furries in the fandom), they dislike your art because it inflames their sensitivities of already being persecuted.
 
Your question is like asking why black people wouldn’t appreciate hooded KKK members marching down a street in Savannah, Georgia. KKK members espouse Christianity, too, you know. Doesn’t mean blacks don’t like Christians (many many African Americans are Christians); it means they don’t like hatred.

​You can say "I don't hate furries" all you like, but actions speak louder than words.
 
Understand?
 
My suggestion: either seek another (non-furry) audience for your art or draw art that furries will enjoy. Continuing to do what you are doing just deliberately stokes the fire of hatred.
 
Papabear
​

Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.”  It’s a New Thing that’s been spreading since the late 2000’s.  This kind of dance party is independent from cons.  This builds on the growth of cons, and takes things farther.  It’s more ambitious than events that happen once, house parties, or informal meets.  Those can stay inner-focused for friends who already know each other.   This brings partnership with venues that aren’t hotels, and new supportive interest in the kind of events they host.  It crosses a line to public space.  A stranger may walk in off the street to discover their new favorite thing.  It encourages new blood, and crossover to other scenes. It makes subculture thrive. It’s a movement!

See the list of parties at The Furclub survey.  Any party that gives a Q&A will get a featured article.

Featured here is WiLD, a new event in Mission Viejo, CA.  So Cal furs have complained of a lack of furry parties.  With Tail! recently started not too far away, WiLD promises to amplify awesome developments for one of the longest existing populations of the fandom.  WiLD’s first venue was lost with ownership change, so it seems like hard work to get established, but their new place looks like it has a lot of potential. LOVE the toony graphics! Party organizer DJ Ear tells more:

WiLD party (2016) ____________________  

• The party name: WiLD (official website.)

• Who: WiLD is organized by myself, DJ EAR – with lots of help from the Orange County Music League (OCML) as well as our local fur community and DJs (some of whom are not furry themselves – but love to come out and party with us).

• What: We’re starting at a new location in Mission Viejo CA. We are not at a nightclub, there is no bar (although we do have a snack bar!) – and as such we have opened our doors to an 18+ crowd.  Our ultimate goal is to pack the entire building head-to-tail in furries, speaker systems, and DJs for anyone who wants to enjoy a night out with friends, EDM, and fur.  Our two previous incarnations the previous year saw roughly 20-30 people show up, and we expect that number to hold for our return until we can prove WiLD is worth returning to. (You’ve gotta start somewhere!)

• When: WiLD is every last Saturday of the month and while we started last year – we’ve only had 2 previous events (due to a change in ownership at our previous venue.)  We want everything to be as transparent as we can in the building and structure of WiLD – so feedback from those who come out to our event is really valuable to us and we’ve tried to learn from our mistakes.  We’ve already been contacted by a few furs in the area wanting to help however they can – all it takes is a quick email or message on Facebook or Twitter.  We’re always listening!

• Where:  Studio One Live Venue (Pacific Coast Center for the Arts) – 25732 Taladro Circle, Mission Viejo, CA 92691.Furs from around the Orange County area and beyond (San Diego, LA and more) have come out to WiLD.

• How (the behind the scenes story:) I was approached by one of the Co-Founder’s of OCML with an idea to host a furry EDM event built on the success of recent EDM night’s they had organized.  Details got ironed out quickly – DJs were lined up even quicker, and we had less than a month to promote for our first event!  It was a big learning experience for me as I was basically given the reigns to organize almost all the aspects of WiLD with OCML providing the backup and know-how to help make it happen.

• Vibe: WiLD hopes to be a place for furs to come enjoy a night of EDM from local furry DJs with friends.  We’re an 18+ event and anyone’s welcome to come by.  We’ve got a headless lounge & some changing areas setup so we hope to see some fursuiters stop by en mass.

• Promotion: So far we’ve been getting the word out by mouth about our event at local fur meetups & online thru social media. It’s still too early to tell how business will go – but we do hope to make some money from this event so that we can improve WiLD and make it bigger & better!

Follow WiLD and check out previous events on Facebook and Twitter.

Good luck to DJ EAR and all of the So Cal furries – I hope WiLD takes off, and proves the awesome potential shared by furry communities starting their own dance parties all over the place.

Skitch and Corvin.

Haze Tiger.