author
Badger Clark
1883–1957
Remembered as one of the classic voices of the American West, he turned cowboy life, open landscapes, and plainspoken faith into poems that still travel far beyond South Dakota. His best-known work, "A Cowboy's Prayer," helped make him a lasting figure in cowboy poetry.
1 Audiobook
Sun and Saddle Leather
by Badger Clark
About the author
Born on January 1, 1883, Charles Badger Clark became one of America’s best-known cowboy poets and was later named the first poet laureate of South Dakota. He grew up in Deadwood, South Dakota, and his writing drew strongly on western life, especially the years he spent in Arizona, where he worked as a cowboy and found the material that shaped his most famous poems.
Clark published collections including Sun and Saddle Leather and became especially associated with "A Cowboy's Prayer," a poem that remained widely known long after it was written. His verse is remembered for its easy rhythm, humor, and affection for the landscapes and working people of the West.
He spent much of his later life in a cabin in Custer State Park known as the Badger Hole, which became closely linked with his public image and legacy. Clark died on September 26, 1957, but he remains an important literary figure in South Dakota and a familiar name to readers of western and cowboy poetry.