Bill Cowee, Nevada Poet

"The blue heron steps lightly across the wetland, stalks the heart within my chest"

-Bill Cowee

CCAI is saddened to learn of the death of Nevada poet Bill Cowee. Mr. Cowee, one of the guiding forces of the Ash Canyon Poets, passed away on October 15.

In an article in the Nevada Appeal, WNC English professor Marilee Swirczek commented: "His poetry is very much grounded in the landscape of the Great Basin and the interior landscape of our hearts and souls. His poetry cuts down to the bone and gristle of human emotions."

Mr. Cowee was honored in 2001 with a Governor's Arts Award. In 2007 he donated more than 1,000 volumes of poetry, the majority featuring Northern Nevada writers, to the Western Nevada College Library.

[Quote from Nevada Audubon website. Photo from Nevada Appeal archive.]