Cowboy poet to read at library

Cowboy poet Larry Dudley will be doing a poetry reading from his new book, "A Cowboy's Heart," on Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Sisters Public Library.

The short stories and poems in "A Cowboy's Heart" spring from Dudley's experience of living a rugged life in Central Oregon: cow roping; bull riding; and backcountry exploring. His love stories and poems reflect years of heartache and wrongdoing, interrupted by his mid-life discovery of Christian

living.

Dudley, 53, started writing poetry in his 40s after a rough-and-tumble life that included foster care at age 3, time in detention as a teen, Alaskan logging jobs, multiple divorces, and years of heavy drinking that started at age 11. He has been 13 years sober.

Dudley used to live in Sisters, caring for legendary Sisters pioneer Nellie

Zook.

At age 3, he and his siblings were placed in foster care due to family troubles. Joe and Nellie Zook took them in for a few years until their dad was able to bring them home again. The Zooks were a strong influence on their lives, and they continued to spend summers with them for many years on the ranch where Nellie grew up.

Dudley counts as a blessing the opportunity to take care of her when she had a stroke in 1997.

It was then that he started writing.

"I didn't even finish freshman year of high school," he told The Nugget. I'd never written anything until I sat down and started writing that stuff when I was taking care of Nellie."

Dudley says that the stark honesty of his writing takes some people by surprise.

"A lot of people are surprised that I put me in there," he said. "It's just the way I write. Sometimes it surprises me."