Selling ‘Tulsa’ to Tulsans
There’s Tulsa the city, and there’s Tulsa the movie. For a brief spell in the spring of 1949, when the movie
Charles Morrow
Filter / Sort
Malissa
1983 A week before, I bought my first maternity gear at the Goodwill, a brown empire-waist polyester top with
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Trail
Long after I left Tahlequah I dreamed of the place. Not just the town but the earth and waters that surround it. The
Rilla Askew
The Condemned Man’s Son
William Clifford Bryson III walked into the viewing room of Oklahoma’s execution chamber clutching his
RJ Young
Tinkering with the Machinery of Death
On the morning of December 14, 1976, Charlie Brooks Jr. and Woody Loudres waited outside a liquor store on Rosedale
Mike Mariani
Teenage Vengeance
“Wake up.” My sister was shaking my shoulder, and not gently. I opened one eye. According to the clock on my
Jennifer Latham
The Opening of Oklahoma from the European Perspective
The following accounts from European newspapers give an idea of what the Europeans read about the opening of Oklahoma.
H.C. Peterson
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
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
Horse Teeth and Heartbreak
Elbow deep inside the jaws of a stallion, Edye Lucas closes her eyes as her fingers explore a landscape of slivered
Sheilah Bright
The Unlikely Baroness
The young black girl poses in a common, patterned dress by an ordinary side chair. Her shadow creates a ghostly
Steve Gerkin
They Died For Their Sins
On August 10, 1966, just after 10 p.m., James French walked to the electric chair. Escorted in by two guards, French
Bob Gregory
Karl Siewert
Karl Siewert always wanted to be a librarian, just like his mother. He’s a compulsive researcher who considers every
This Land
Steak, Eggs, and a Submachine Gun
“You want me to tell you a story?” asked Marilee Macias, a native of Perry, Oklahoma, with kind eyes and perfectly
Ryan Daly
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
Eulogy for Ireland
*** Me, Shrouded in green, white, and orange I wake up tossing up electric blankets in my single-bed
Declan Kiely
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
Night Hoops
With tar still sludging our fingers from roofing jobs worked through the heat of day, with scratches down our
Benjamin Myers
Mongolians “R” Us
For me there will never be another travel adventure like Japan. I was one of four guest speakers at the International
LeAnne Howe
Ensigns and Sensei
On April 5, 1945, Oklahoma A&M President Henry Bennett received a telegram from U.S. Senator Elmer
R.E. Graalman Jr.
Bombed-Out Boise City
It was about half past midnight on July 5, 1943. The heat of the day had given way to the usual cooling that occurs
David Dary
Anchovies
we’ve come all the way from Oklahoma for locals
Victoria McArtor
Ismail Zebdieh
In 1988, Ismail Zebdieh left Aleppo, Syria, where he was a landscape engineer and a photographer. Since then, he's been
This Land
The Essence of Forever
I moved off campus my junior year at Long Island University into a second-floor room of a home in the cheerful village
Cheryl Pallant
Living Room Kitchen
I am missing two fingerprints on my right hand. The neat spiral of lines on my ring and middle fingers suddenly flatten
Sasha Martin
Grant McClintock
In this special Original Okie double feature, we present two portraits of Grant McClintock: one snapped in 1975 by
This Land
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
Renegade Golf
Cheyenne Golf Course, in Cheyenne, Oklahoma, is more reminiscent of Tom Joad than Tom Watson. It consists of nine
Tyler Palmateer
You Are Going to Be a Good Man
The moon has been off my left shoulder for thirty-seven years and I’ve never known a blue this bad, this purple. Lots
George McCormick
Queer as Folk
& then gay marriage was legal in Oklahoma & it was renamed “Oklahomo” & cowboys went broke
Nick Weaver
It Only Got Worse
All right, before you judge me, you have to understand what I was dealing with. No matter what any man will tell you,
RJ Young
Much Love Lost
February is the month of true love; that’s why it’s the shortest month of the year. Valentine’s Day has been a
Connie Cronley
Wilber Glasby
Wilber Glasby knows some folks think he’s a hoarder, but he sees cash value in his eight-acre junk-strewn kingdom in
Sheilah Bright
The Day Disaster Struck
Watch any television newscast, read any newspaper, and you’ll know that humans are fascinated with catastrophe.
Connie Cronley
Saucers over Oklahoma
Saturday morning, July 31, 1965, at 1:05 a.m., Officer Lewis Sikes of the Wynnewood Police Department reported sighting
David A. Farris
Milking It
My mother pulled her flame-orange Pinto into the cratered lot at the entrance to our neighborhood and silently handed
Jennifer Luitwieler
Tongues of Fire in Kansas
Pentecostalism, a branch of Christianity that grew out of Protestantism in the early 20th century, has 280 million
Mike Mariani
Fast Forward
As we move yet one more step towards dust Desire fades and jealousy and
Warren Brown
Lee Lyles
Lee Lyles of Sulphur, Oklahoma, forged a love for heavy metal as a kid and blazed a farrier career that earned him an
Sheilah Bright
The Murder on Turkey Creek
In November 1876, two men met in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, and discussed their desires to cross the Indian Territory into
Martha Buntin
We Extend our Condolences
On February 27, 2014, 18-year-old William Rush entered Judge Tom Gillert’s Tulsa County courtroom. He was in
Brian Ted Jones
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
Dowsing for Cartoonists
The Dick Tracy Headquarters occupies a small corner of the Pawnee County Historical Museum, and the exhibit looks as
Jonathan Gaboury
Honky-Tonk University
One morning in 1974, not long after his father’s death, Mike Day was sitting in his parents’ Okmulgee living room
Richard Higgs
Oklahomans in the Spanish-American War
Many of us retain a vivid memory of the stirring days from the sinking of the battleship Maine, February 15, to the
John Alley
Pushing the Sky
James “Robbie” Risner started life in rural Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, in the 1920s. His destitute family left the
Steve Gerkin
Bean There, Done That
A Transportation Security Administration officer we’ll call Pat told me very politely, even gently: “Sir, you’re
This Land
The French Horn and the Fire Escape
(Written while listening to the Andrew Hill Quintet) The French horn strays, then joins with upside-down notes, the
Bill Turley
Irena Kendrick
Irena Kendrick was born February 5, 1976, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She immigrated to Oklahoma, by way of Germany, as
Shane Brown
Letter from Ferguson
By sundown Monday evening, November 24, the scene in front of the Ferguson Police Department was nothing short of
Derek Dyson
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
The Disappearance of Ford Beckman
Editor's note: On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, Ford Beckman, the subject of this story, died at his home in Tulsa. He
Michael Mason
Icee Dates, Evangelical Games, and Missional Positions
I remember the crying. Girls with mascara smeared across their faces, racing down the aisles of the tabernacle toward
Jamie Birdwell-Branson
Making the Case for Martyrdom
Stanley Rother was an unlikely martyr. He was born in a small farmhouse outside Okarche, a small town in western
Mason Beecroft
When Kansas Was Ahead of its Time
With the celebration, remembrance, and commentary that has come with 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act this
Shawna Bethell
Religion of Silence
A curving road led me from the expressway into a neighborhood where American flags adorned brown, brick houses and
Molly Evans
Father George Eber
Father George Eber, an Okie since the '80s, is originally from Buffalo, New York. After three years as an infantry
Melissa Lukenbaugh
CJ Wells
If you ask CJ Wells what brought him to Tulsa, he'll say, “An ‘87 Toyota pick-up truck." He'd been throwing mud at
This Land
The Indian of Their Dreams
If they hadn’t been square dancing beneath it, I might have ignored it. But there they were, the squares of the
This Land
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
Beauty, Purpose, and Preservation
Kinky hair is usually defined by 4a-4c hair type and is tightly coiled with a zig zag
James McGirk
Memoirs of a Pioneer Teacher
I was born February 1, 1870, on a farm near Centropolis in Franklin County, Kansas. We moved to Ottawa when I was three
Harriet Patrick Gilstrap
Love Smells of a Man Named Floyd
It is difficult to offer up our hearts like raw chicken on a hibachi grill often the chefs are not
Jennifer E. Hudgens
Ryan LaCroix
Ryan LaCroix is the operations manager at KOSU Radio and co-hosts the weekly radio program The Oklahoma Rock Show. He
Nathan Poppe
Foul Weather
Some things you can’t figure out. Not even with a whole heap of scratch paper and a ribbon of data from a chattering
Daniel H. Wilson
For Rachel, Who Is Not Lost
A seagull on the moon is not lost, She is a student of lunar soils. A cookie in a salad is not lost, It is
Rob Roensch
The Homestead
The cruiser cab hummed all around WilDer, nearly electric with the energy of corralled students on holiday. Mal, a live
Paige Duke
Joy Harjo
The wandering poet, writer, and musician Joy Harjo returned home three years ago. She left Oklahoma for an Indian
Melissa Lukenbaugh
Two Poems by Grant Matthew Jenkins
Marks Along the river valley who hears the cry of the raptors? Will you avail yourself of the talents at your
Grant Matthew Jenkins
It’s Hip to Be Square
The term “comic con” is misleading. When Wizard World brings its version of a comic con to Tulsa for the first time
Jamie Pierson
Lafferty Lost and Found
They convened in a meeting room in the back of an old Borden’s Cafeteria. A bald man with a soft paunch, looking
Natasha Ball
Wearing the Wrong Colors
He got started quick. He found me out, honed in, and covered me at the bar. The clash was long awaited. I went
Drew Tully
On the Fly
On a cool March evening, we set out a sandwich board that read “SHORT ORDER POEMS 1 FOR $5 FRESHLY TYPED &
Timothy Bradford & Chad Reynolds
Torment Relieved in Song
On October 25, 1914, banker John Allyn Smith and schoolteacher Martha Little welcomed their first of two sons, John
Cheryl Pallant
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
John School
On Valentine’s Day 2012, Jarrae Estepp climbed into the passenger seat of a white Ford pick-up. She was five months
Marcos Barbery
Suspicious Mind
The November race for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District, which spills out of the Panhandle and fills the western
Matt Lardner
Hard Times Oklahoma: A Russell Lee Photo Essay
Seventy-five years ago, in April of 1939, John Steinbeck published his fictionalized account of the severe hardships
Catherine Whitney
Capitol Coercion
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent indictment by a grand jury in Travis County, Texas, might seem familiar to the
Brian Ted Jones
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
The Cathedral Cruiser
When GM decommissioned the Parade of Progress, 12 Futurliners went up for sale. We know that a couple of them found
This Land
This Is My Beloved Son
The fall of the first family of televangelism came swiftly. Two Oral Roberts Ministries employees crouched on a desk
Kiera Feldman
Sam Gillaspy
Sam Gillaspy has lived in Arcadia, Oklahoma, for 88 years. He's devoted the last eight of those to giving tours at the
Brooks Nickell
The Red Shift
North of the Red River, in the “Land of the Red Man,” on the iron-rich red soil and matching dust, with red
Larry Guthrie
Marcello Angelini
How long does it take to dance from Italy to Oklahoma? For Marcello Angelini, almost 35 years. He began studying
Brooks Nickell
Signs of Forgotten Times
In a small meeting room in a Unitarian Universalist church a few miles north of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, people of
Adrian Margaret Brune
The Dirt Room
She couldn’t resist the photographs online, or the sellers’ description: Adorable Cape Cod with walk-out
Aimee Parkison
Wild Life
The rock formations that spill out from the wooded foothills of the Sans Bois Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma were
Jezy J. Gray
Greed Is Good
During the final phase of military conquest of the continent, surviving Indigenous refugees were deposited in Indian
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Train Singer’s Song
I had been watching freight trains from the window of my 10:00 Tuesday-Thursday class all semester. The classroom
George McCormick
Ten-Dollar Word
Transcendence? That’s a ten-dollar word, Delbert. But yeah, I’ve got one for you. This happened the summer I was
Steve Garrison
Books, Movies & Rock ‘n Roll: A Conversation with Dana Spiotta
If only Dana Spiotta had an Oklahoma connection, I thought. I had just been invited to guest edit This Land’s
Constance Squires
Rilla Askew
Rilla Askew was born in the San Bois Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma, a place she's noted for its harshness and
Shane Brown
Working Class Hero
Reed picked change off the floorboard of his Buick parked outside the Blue Note to pay the cover for the Oi! show. It
Angela Morris
Snake Ball
Joey Rigoletto is a spazz. We know this. What a dickhead, we said as he went by, tipped over practically, calling out,
Bayard Godsave
Running
Running is without a doubt a great way to achieve your fitness goals. Millions of people, both young and old, engage
Jessica Puckett
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
Steve Adams
There's hardly anything about McAlester, Oklahoma, that Steve Adams doesn’t know. For 35 years, he’s been the local
Brooks Nickell
Near McAlester
When folks ask me where in Oklahoma I live, I say “near McAlester,” because this is where I go to shop, use the
Rilla Askew
Thirty Minutes of Terror
The afternoon opens with a birthday party. Your neighborhood friends are ramping BMX bicycles in the driveway.
Aaron Toney