Cows and Cowboys In Art and Storytelling

Cows appear in fairytale as a vital source of dairy products. “Jack and the Beanstalk” is a well-known English example. “The Three Cows” is a famous Celtic example. In Celtic cultures, the feast of Samhain is held when the mortal world and the fairy realm are at their closest.

THE THREE COWS

If you’d like to hear a famous ancient tale read aloud, I recommend the retellings by Parcast’s Tales podcast series. (They have now moved over to Spotify.) These are ancient tales retold using contemporary English, complete with music and Foley effects. Some of these old tales are pretty hard to read, but the Tales podcast presents them in an easily digestible way. “The Three Cows” was published April 2020.

The Curious Cow 1960 by Esther K. Meeks illustrated by Mel Pekarsky

For ‘Lucky Pete’ in The Wide World Magazine May 1920 illustration by Warwick Reynolds cowboy gun

FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Midwest Cowboy, a film by Brian Kaiser: “The ways cowboys have been depicted in popular culture, and who has been excluded from those depictions is directly linked to the inaccurate stories America tells itself about race, gender, exceptionalism, expansion, and destiny. A growing body of literature and images have sought to expand and challenge these incomplete depictions, to correct the record and broaden the definition. This body of work looks to do the same.”

LATEST AUDIOBOOK (short story for children)

error: Content is protected