Bean There, Done That
A Transportation Security Administration officer we’ll call Pat told me very politely, even gently: “Sir, you’re
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Bat Country
The following originally appeared in Granta 63: Beasts. It is re-printed here with full permission from the
Gordon Grice
Bass Ackwards
Ten years ago, I helped a group of kids string up a dozen cane poles in an effort to put them in touch with nature in
Beau Adams
Bartholic’s Boat
Tulsa artist Bob Bartholic was a visionary. One of his visions involved a boat made of concrete that he planned to sail
Lee Roy Chapman
Barry Bilder
Barry Bilder is the founder of Peace of Mind Bookstore, the oldest business on Tulsa's historic Cherry
This Land
Barbara Cowles (1928-2011)
“It must have been 1964 or ’65 when we met,” says longtime friend Delores Duke. We both lived on Brookside and
Shawna Lewis
Barbara Bartholic (1939-2010)
Barbara Bartholic stands out as one of our city’s most daringly eccentric individuals. In fact, she stands out in
Shawna Lewis
Bandit in Boley
The air was cold and bitter the day George Birdwell robbed the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Boley, Oklahoma. Normally
Jamie Birdwell-Branson
Ball “4,” Take Your Base
The quiet and well-mannered 19-year-old from Commerce, Oklahoma, was on an exponential rise to the top of the
Jacob Bohannon
Backwards Christian Soldier
Shortly after World War II, Billy James Hargis came barreling down from the Arkansas hills—all 6 foot 6 inches and
Russell Cobb
Back, by Popular Demand
2012: One Man's Take on the Year in Pop Music Modern Rock Classic: Tame Impala, Lonerism Every few years in
Doug Schulte
Back Roads
The explosions are always real. Small wheels turn tighter. These stark prairie towns keep the eyes and bones close
Laura Brandenburg
Baby Boomer
Checotah (AP)—Tim Rutledge, a local meat inspector, and his wife signed a national letter of intent Tuesday morning
Beau Adams
Azizeh Jazayeri Tehrani-Hadavi (1924-2011)
“There were two sides to my mother,” Pat Hadavi remembered. “She was a Muslim, and she was a
Shawna Lewis
Autobiography
----I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1942. ----No, I wasn’t. I was born in Salem, Arkansas in 1942. I always say I
Joe Brainard
At Risk
While driving to a visit in Adair County on an early afternoon in the rolling brown of a northeastern
Christopher Murphy
At Melville’s Birthplace
Everybody who was in NYC that day has a story to tell. I was supposed to report to work at the New York Public
Bob Dumont
Asylum
I wrote this all down to keep myself alive. For six days and five nights, I was a mental patient in total
Jennie Lloyd
Ashes to Ashes
Just outside Bokoshe, Oklahoma is a winding stretch of properties known as “the loop.” The land is heavily wooded
Gene Perry
Anthony McDermid
Anthony McDermid is a founding principal at TAP Architecture and has been living in Oklahoma for 35 years. His efforts
Nathan Poppe
Anthony in Ramallah
I met Anthony in Jerusalem in March 2002, when he was a reporter at the Boston Globe. He, like many journalists and
Timothy Fadek
Anthony Batchelder
Today, Tulsa’s theatre scene is a lively village of eager theaters and acting troupes, happy to share resources with
Shawna Lewis
Another Kind of Endless Summer
Just as we were enduring week after blazing week of drought and conflagration and hell-worthy heat in our part of the
John Wooley
Annie Ellicott
Annie Ellicott is a prolific singer, songwriter, and actress in
Ralph Cole
And Satan Came Also
A greater threat to a peaceful, civilized community than the outlaw bands that terrorized, plundered, and killed was
Albert McRill
Anchovies
we’ve come all the way from Oklahoma for locals
Victoria McArtor
Anarchy in the OK
No one took credit for the bomb threat that January night. Though no device was found in the women’s restroom of the
Lee Roy Chapman
An Open Letter to Our Readers
In April of this year, nearly thirty writers, artists, and thinkers collaborated on a publication with the hope that
Michael Mason
An Oklahoma Son Airs His Family Secrets
By the early 1970s, the writer John Cheever had slipped beyond alcoholic; his prodigious drinking had likely caused
Adrian Margaret Brune
An Oil Town’s Golden Idol
When the Golden Driller was installed for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition, Tulsa was “The Oil Capital of
Tony Beaulieu
An Odder Science
I pulled up behind Dr. Randy Wymore’s pickup right as he pulled up in front of Sidney Presley’s house. “Sorry I
Mitch Gilliam
An Interview with Ralph Ellison
Ellison was not known for giving interviews, but in 1966 he sat down at his home in New York City with Robert Hughes.
This Land
An Astrological Look at Oklahoma
Most people know about the Sun Sign column in the newspaper, but did you know that astrologers do much more? We
Lynn Bootes
Amy Cottingham
Amy Cottingham sings, composes, arranges, transcribes, teaches and performs classical and jazz music. She performs
Jeremy Luther
Among the Tribe of the Wannabes
Let’s take a voyage to a not-so-distant land and visit a strange tribe. Or maybe not so strange. In fact, you may
Russell Cobb
American Radical
In Pampa, Texas, Guthrie lived through the catastrophe that would enable him to identify with many of the migrants he
Will Kaufman
Ambassador Polygon
When Johnny Polygon tells me that “being from Oklahoma is like having an asshole brother,” he’s not being
Joshua Kline
Alpha and Omega
I don’t remember life before fishing, and that’s fine with me, from what I’ve been told of it. Much of my infancy
Grant McClintock
Allison Hedge Coke
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke lives with her mustangs, dogs, and 92-year-old father in an old rock house just south of
Shane Brown
All’s Faire in Love, Junk, and War Games
In 1973, author and two-time Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne published How I Found Freedom in an Unfree
Natasha Ball
All Dressed Up
I stood in front of my closet. Do I select a t-shirt with a likeness of Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly? Or two
Grace Gordon
Agnes Taylor
It all started with my great-great-great-grandpa, James Taylor, who moved to Big Pasture Indian Territory—now Cotton
Jeremy Charles
Agnes Taylor
Agnes Taylor’s family album is full of hardscrabble farmers, war heroes, and football champions—she’s a
Jeremy Charles
Against All Frauds
Oklahoma was born in an era when beliefs about gender roles dictated that politics were dirty and rough and that ladies
Cortney Stone
Adventures of the Barely Clad
Jessica Gripp pulled off her T-shirt, revealing the black demi-bra underneath. A few of her classmates helped her on
Natasha Ball
Admiral Twin Drive-In
Since 1951, the Admiral Twin Drive-In has been one of Tulsa's most beloved gathering spots. Nearly every long-time
This Land
Aching to be Kind
I’ve never met a Jehovah’s Witness I didn’t like. Sure, they’re a bit loony, but every encounter I’ve ever
Shawna Lewis
Aboard the Dixie Train
I called ahead. The hostess at Crow Creek Tavern said former American Idol contestant Matt Breitzke—the Oklahoman
Shawna Lewis
Aaron & Jessica
Littering the kitchen countertop was a mess of costumes, accessories, and makeup found typically in the back recesses
Rebekah Greiman
A Year with the Bison
Spring The wallows are full. Egrets range on bison backs --- colors rise
Erin Glanville Brown
A Week with the Boys
In May of 1919, Greek soldiers occupied the Ottoman province of Smyrna, in what is modern day Turkey. During the
Gene Perry
A Timeless Conviction
John I. Jenkins is the President of Notre Dame University. Here, he delivers the 2012 Commencement Address to Wesley
John I. Jenkins
A Time for Jazz
I first encountered the history of jazz in the car, on the way to school in Dallas, TX. My dad would listen to the jazz
Steven Schrag
A Taste of Ukraine in Oklahoma
The Ukrainian protests since last November reminded me of this photo I took of my two daughters several years ago. We
Randy R Potts
A Symphony of Bees
Out off Aspen Avenue, deep in the tree streets of Broken Arrow, a very typical three-bedroom, single-family unit is
This Land
A Stiller Ground
I walked in graveyards, gathering trash and fallen branches. I pulled weeds that obscured the names on old headstones
Gordon Grice
A Six-Gun and a Song
Woody Guthrie and Pretty Boy Floyd never met, but that didn’t keep Oklahoma’s favorite balladeer and bank robber
Dale Ingram
A Sense of Solidarity
Lee Roy Chapman writes: The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, aka
Ted Kaczynski
A Ride With Bob
Confession time: Based on how huge an influence Bob Wills has always been on Asleep at the Wheel, you might think that
Ray Benson
A Portis Reader
Nobody re-reads better than Charles Portis. In fact, nobody re-re-reads better than Portis. Thus, having his
Robert Dumont
A Pentecost of Bicycles
The attraction between a boy and his bike, as William Maxwell writes about the attraction between boys and dogs, can be
David McGlynn
A Night at the Brick
I try to avoid Bricktown. "It's for tourists," I tell people. "If you really want fun in Oklahoma City, go to the Plaza
Nathan Gunter
A New Day
Last September in the town of Bartlesville, 15-year-old Blue Haase got a ride to his local school board meeting. During
Molly Bullock
A Naked Person Is Not a Poem
Harrod Blank seems like an affable, naturally cheery fella. You’d think then that his dad, documentary filmmaker Les
Thomas Conner
A Meditation on Metaphors
If you go online and look up “bad metaphors and similes,” here are a few examples you’re likely to
Darren Ingram
A Life Illustrated
I cracked the book’s spine and turned its surprisingly crisp pages, inhaling the damp attic smell that wafted up to
Molly Evans
A Letter to Zach Harrington
Editor’s note: On September 28, 2010, Zach Harrington, 19 and a graduate of Norman North High School, attended a
Stephen Brower
A Full-Frontal Assault on Pirate’s Cove
There is a small half-bowl of beachfront on the Pacific Ocean in San Luis Obispo County, California, know to the locals
Ron Honn
A Day at the Races
When Richard Linihan was a boy, his mother dreamt that a horse bit her on the back of the neck. She couldn’t shake
Natasha Ball
A Creek Woman Moves to Northern New York
*** At the market they never have what I need: sofke corn, dried pea hulls, canuche balls wrapped in
Stacy Pratt
A Conspiracy of Silence
The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 made national headlines on June 1 of this year, its 90th anniversary. Tulsa quietly
J. Kavin Ross
A Comanche House in Cache
The Star House—named for the series of white stars painted starkly on its roof, signifying nothing in
Sarah Szabo
A Childhood Noir
My earliest recollections are of being pinched. Not in the figurative sense, but actually. I was an awkward,
Jim Thompson
A Burn Scar in the Shape of the Sooner State
In August 2011, I left a desirable internship and sublet in San Francisco for Tulsa and law school. The first
Pierce Smith
A Bridge Too Far
The bungalow’s uninsulated tin roof crackled and popped each evening as the sun set and temperatures dropped from the
Ron Loewen
A Brady Heights Christmas Story
Any bride-to-be wants to celebrate her last days of freedom together with her friends. within the future"> at some
Ivan Pickard
A Beaver’s Tale
“Ruth line two.” Ruth and her two sons are leasing my house while I’m off doing other things. That’s the good
Van Eden
9:02 AM
I hurtled down Interstate 40, late for work, as usual, barely noticing the beautiful spring morning. I was frustrated
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon
7-Eleven Remembered
As fitting a name as it is for a pub, “Ryan’s” looks out of place over the word “Mercadito.” Ryan’s looks
This Land
1977 Seminole County
me and my best friend k.t. hurtled down chug holed roads in her green Gran Torino, racing almost as fast as our doped
Jeanetta Mish
100 Years and Counting
Scenes from the Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert last March at the Brady Theater in Tulsa. Photos by Matt Leach and
This Land
#RebootChrisGaines
This is a call for Troyal Brooks to bring his alter ego out of retirement. No, not Garth — though that ol’
Thomas Conner
“Take Me Back to Tulsa” Turns 70
Located at 504 East Archer in Tulsa, a plaque marks the intersection of Archer and Greenwood immortalized in Bob Wills'
Lee Roy Chapman
“C” is for Collaboration
1964 was a fertile year for Joe Brainard. After a brief retreat from the pressures of establishing himself in New York
James Vance
“A Negro Peyote Cult”
Excerpted from the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Vol. 24, No. 10, October 15, 1934. In the fall
Maurice G. Smith
‘Til the Cows Come Home
India is a country of convergences, contradictions, ancient memory, and prolific examinations of the senses. There is
Erin Turner
‘Til the Clowns Come Home
Passing Oaklawn Cemetery, on our way to Mazzio’s, Michelle made her request: “Mitch, can you take off your hat?”
Mitch Gilliam