About the Poet
Marianne McFarland was raised north of Rapid City, on the Quarter Circle U Ranch near the Black Hills of South Dakota. Her husband of forty-two years, Grant McNeil, died of cancer in April of 1991 at Amarillo, Texas. Two sons live in Amarillo, and one in El Paso. She started writing poetry after her father’s death at Christmas of 1980. Her mother still lives in Rapid City. She has one brother and three sisters, including her older twin sister, firstborn in the family.
In March of 1994, she married Claude Logan, of Dumas, Texas. They spend much time traveling to Writing Seminars and Cowboy Gatherings where she is often a scheduled speaker. She is a Councilor-at-Large for the Poetry Society of Texas, and has organized many writing activities for the Panhandle area writers.
She helped establish cowboy poetry in the Panhandle: Old West Days, monthly breakfasts at the Big Texan, and programs at Barnes & Noble. She founded and helped moderate the Senior Citizens group for twenty years; fifty-six members were published during that time. She founded the Tri-State Fair Literary Contest, has encouraged area poets in readings on KGNC on National Poetry Day, promoted poetry readings at the Amarillo Art Center, setup poetry displays at “Taste the Arts” at Westgate Center, and organized many cowboy poetry programs in neighboring communities.
A well-known rhyming poet, she has won over 1,000 poetry contest awards! Three of her chap books have garnered five national awards, one receiving a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Her poems have been published in a number of Natl Federation of State Poetry Societies Book of the Year, showing contest winners, Annual State Poetry Society Year books include Poetry Society of Texas, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan and others.
Anthologies that included her poetry are Midwest Poetry Review, Galaxy of Verse, Editor's Desk, Jesse Poet, Poets Northwest. Rio Grande Review, and others. Good Housekeeping, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Stories, Country on beautiful colored scenes, Good Old Days, Grit, and Byline Magazines are a few that published her poetry.
Always a person of talent and dedicated service, these are a few of the many accolades: the prestigious Hilton Ross Greer Award by the Poetry Society of Texas, the Heritage Award by the Southwest Cowboy Poetry Association, and the Lifetime Award from Panhandle Professional Writers in Amarillo.
Please also take a look at www.trianglemotelrt66.com website, telling about the historic (and condemned motel) that Marianne's son,
Alan J. McNeil, is restoring, right on Route 66. It is quite a story.