Joe Kreger
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Joe Russel Kreger (born 1939 in Tonkawa, Oklahoma)[1] served twice as poet laureate of the American state of Oklahoma.[2] He was previously appointed in 1998 after the death of Betty Shipley,[3] and reappointed in 2021.[2] Kreger was the first poet laureate of the state to be considered primarily a "cowboy poet,",[2] preceding Eddie Wilcoxen (2011–2012) and Jay Snider (2023-2024). Born in Tonkawa, Oklahoma,[2] Kreger has spent most of his life as a rancher.[3][4][5]
His poems have been published as Lookin' at Life (1997, Innovative Broadcast Corp) and Still Lookin' (2000, Doane Agricultural Service).[6][7]
Joe Kreger was born in Tonkawa, Oklahoma.[1] His father was a medical doctor who served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[1] Kreger earned a bachelor's degree in animal science in 1961[7] and a master's in agricultural education in 1968 from Oklahoma State University.[8] He served in the U.S. Army Reserves, worked for Redbud Hereford Ranch, taught at Northern Oklahoma College, and then founded his own ranch, Kreger Ranch.[7]
