Home » ‘All our dreams star Buffalo Bill’: a poet reflects on the showman’s presence in Cody
Poet and actor Evan Wambeke stands in the Whitney Western Art Museum with two paintings featuring interpretations of Buffalo Bill. Wambeke gave a poetry reading and workshop in the summer of 2024 at the Whitney Western Art Museum as part of an artist in residency program.

‘All our dreams star Buffalo Bill’: a poet reflects on the showman’s presence in Cody

‘All our dreams star Buffalo Bill’: a poet reflects on the showman’s presence in Cody

A Museum Minute

By Olivia Weitz
Wyoming Public Media
October 4, 2024

A 1-minute audio snapshot highlighting a museum object from the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Artist Evan Wambeke penned 10 poems inspired by artworks in the Whitney Western Art Museum that are now part of a community-focused digital exhibition.

His poem, “Buffalo ‘Ballad’ Bill,” explores how much of the showman’s presence is still felt in the town of Cody today.

“When you stroll the streets of his town
He’s there in every grill.
On the mugs! The shirts! City Hall!
Mustachioed ol’ Bill
He’s at the bar, as drunk as you are
Swaying of all the swill.”

A pen and ink portrait of Buffalo Bill by John Thomson Willing made in 1898 inspired the poem. Pairing the artwork with Wambeke’s poem offers space to think about the man versus his larger than life persona.

“Buffalo Bill is much more than just the man that he was. He’s largely the story of who his life was. And even during his life, he might’ve been more story than man between the dime novels and the showmanship,” he said.

Wambeke said the line, “All clouds here are shaped like goatees / All our dreams star Buffalo Bill,” is meant to be tongue in cheek. He said it’s hard to go anywhere on Cody’s Main Street without seeing images of Buffalo Bill.

Wambeke’s poems are part of a digital exhibition curated by community members. “The West in Form: Imagining a Cowboy’s World Through Formal Poetry and Western Art” exhibition is featured on the Whitney Western Art Museum’s digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app.

The Whitney Western Art Museum is accepting proposals from those who are interested in creating digital exhibitions inspired by their collections.

Poet and actor Evan Wambeke stands in the Whitney Western Art Museum with two paintings featuring interpretations of Buffalo Bill. Wambeke gave a poetry reading and workshop in the summer of 2024 at the Whitney Western Art Museum as part of an artist in residency program.
Poet and actor Evan Wambeke gave a poetry reading and workshop in the summer of 2024 at the Whitney Western Art Museum as part of an artist in residency program.
Categories Museum Minute

Written By

Olivia Weitz avatar

Olivia Weitz

Olivia Weitz is a Multimedia Journalist for Wyoming Public Radio. She works out of a recording studio inside the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody. She covers Yellowstone National Park, wildlife, and arts and culture throughout the region. She produces the “Museum Minute” series, which features objects from the Center of the West’s collections.

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