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About the
author......CATHERINE LILBIT DEVINE |
Catherine "Lilbit" Devine
said this about the Russell art on this web page:
"Rodeo has always been
a huge part of my life. I became actively involved in Roughstock
while in High School. Whenever someone would say that a girl
ought not be doing such a thing, I would answer if it was good
enough for Tad Lucas, Margie Greenough & Fox Hastings then its
good enough for me. This is one of my tributes to the women who
dared to challenge the men back in the early 1900s. They not
only challenged them but they beat them! "
She is one cowboy poet who has
experienced the thrill of rodeo participation. She grew up & still resides in
the Desert southwest. A Tucson native, she grew up immersed in a
rich meld of Scot/Irish, Hispanic, Sicilian & Native American
culture & customs. Lucky enough to be raised around horses & cattle,
she began writing poetry in the fifth grade. She writes about the
land, its people & the only way of life she has ever known. Rodeo &
ranching are in her blood, as is the Code of the West. She is just
as at home on horseback, on a dance floor or in the back chutes. She
divides her time between her children; her close knit family, her
menagerie of animals, her day job as a member of the Tucson Public
Safety Academy, her jewelry designing & her writings.
She is one of the members of Whispers of the West, a Western Poetry
& Music group. The other three members of Whispers are Debra
Coppinger Hill, G. Casey Allen and Jeff Streeby. Whispers of the
West have performed at private house concerts, Book Festivals,
Cowboy Gatherings, Corporate Barbecues and other venues across North
America. They have recently returned from an Educational Tour in
Ireland. They taught a workshop on the Culture & Heritage of the
American West through Poetry, Song and Story, introducing their 37
International students to the correlation between Irish Traditional
Ballads and the songs of the Trail. While in Ireland, they also
shared the songs and stories of the American West in Pubs and
Private House Concerts. They have been invited to return next summer
to teach once again at the Gerard Manley Hopkins Institute. They are
looking forward to going back and are currently seeking performance
venues across Ireland during July 2005.
In September of 2003, she published her first book, Rodeo'n,
Romanc'n & Remember'n, a compilation of poems written by Lilbit &
Jacob MacCallister which reflects a life long relationship with
Rodeo, both rocky & rich. Her second Poetry book, Mis Raices Estan
Aqui ~ Life's Lessons Learned, will be out in early 2005. This
second book will continue the journey down the Rodeo road, as well
as provide insight into the issues a cowboy must face in these
modern times. Cactus Faeries, a child's book set in the Sonoran
Desert of Arizona, will be released in December 2005. As if working full time, raising two teenage
boys, caring for her horses, cats and dogs, writing poetry,
collaborating on songs and traveling to perform weren’t enough to
keep her busy, Lilbit also designs jewelry, Starry Owl Designs, made
with semi-precious stones & sterling silver or antique glass and
Irish pewter. She makes her jewelry available at craft shows,
performance venues, local specialty stores and on the Whispers of
the West website. You can read more about her on
Whispers Of The West:
http://www.whisperswest.com/
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