S. Omar Barker

Las Vegas New Mexico's Legendary Cowboy Poet

By: Stan Paregien

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

This biography is the very first in-depth telling of the life of New Mexico’s celebrated cowboy poet, S. Omar Barker. He was an amazing man who became not only widely known but greatly admired and loved. He managed to achieve that status even though he seldom left his beloved retreat in the mountains of northern New Mexico. His secret was that he made his living through his mailbox. Writing in virtual isolation, Omar sold his poetry, articles and novels to many different publishers. That was from 1926 until his death in 1985. This biography contains 50 complete poems of his, but it is much more about his unusual life and the people and the culture of San Miguel County. Omar Barker was born in 1894 on a ranch up in the mountains 26 miles northwest of Las Vegas, N.M. He was a child of and a product of that time of great social changes in a lifestyle previously dominated by the Spanish culture. Omar’s honors were many and his friends beyond numbering. His wife, Elsa McCormick Barker, was also a successful novelist. His peers had him serve a term as president of the Western Writers of America. Years later, they named him as a “Lifetime President” of WWA. Still later, they gave him their greatest honor, the “Saddleman Award” for lifetime achievement. And his own college, New Mexico Highlands University, gave him an honorary “Doctor of Literature” degree. Then when NMHU celebrated its 100th birthday, they named Omar as their “Outstanding Alumnus of the Centennial” and they named the extended Barker family as their “Outstanding Family of the Centennial.” S. Omar Barker’s life is an inspiring story about a local boy who made it big without leaving home and who never lost that common touch.