The Society Gang Killing
One of Tulsa’s most notorious crimes occurred on Thanksgiving night, 1934. Twenty-one-year-old John Gorrell’s body
Kent F. Frates
Filter / Sort
Cornel Williams and Keith Reed
These men know how to roll with the punches. A decade ago, Cornel Williams (right) created Tulsa Crime Monthly — the
Brooks Nickell
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
Lawyer with a Gun
Tension and a sweltering summer heat hung over the courtroom at Enid, Oklahoma Territory. All doors and windows were
Glenn Shirley
Murder by Samaritan
Allen Ross was a free spirit. He wore thrift-store clothes and Converse tennis shoes to complement his tall, gangling
David A. Farris
Strung Out, Locked Up
In 2010, Tamra Schmidkunz sat in a dark car outside the Rib Crib on 51st Street and Sheridan Avenue in Tulsa. She was
James A. Pearson
On the Road: 23 of Oklahoma’s Best Roadside Attractions
By Molly Evans and Tony Beaulieu Whether it's night or day and something unexpected just happened on the road, and
This Land
The Man, the Myth
I waited too long. I’d known for weeks, if not months, that Bob Dylan was coming to play the historic Cain’s
Jeff Martin
Rocking China
In retrospect, I do wonder how I made a rock and roll record in China in such adverse conditions. I had lived in
Tyson Meade
Kenneth Renberg
In 1935, at age 14, Gunther Renberg emigrated from Germany, changed his name to Kenneth, and settled in Enid, Oklahoma,
Jeremy Charles
Confronting Male Aggression
During the early 1990s in Oklahoma, Catholic prep schools didn’t exactly impress punk music, rebellion, or third-wave
Adrian Margaret Brune
Free For All: The 24 Best Displays of Public Art in Oklahoma
Art isn’t just found in galleries. Thanks to the talent and ingenuity of its creators, and funding by both public and
Molly Evans
Choctalking on Other Realities
It was so hot in the kitchen of the Oklahoma City airport café that the plastic clock melted. Time oozed down the wall
LeAnne Howe
Stories Carved in Stone
Painter, illustrator, sculptor, husband, father, innovator, teacher: Oklahoman Allan Houser was all of these things and
Christina Burke
Lady of the Plains
Bryant Baker knew that the Pioneer Woman was his masterpiece, so he called in a photographer to document its gradual,
Mike Boettcher
#RebootChrisGaines
This is a call for Troyal Brooks to bring his alter ego out of retirement. No, not Garth — though that ol’
Thomas Conner
Toby Jenkins
Toby Jenkins, father of two grown children and proud "Poppi" of three grandchildren, has been involved in one way or
Brooks Nickell
Woody Guthrie’s Disciples
Jimmy LaFave discovered Woody Guthrie in high school—around the time he picked up his first pair of drumsticks (which
This Land
Our Daughter Was an Only Son
Editor's note: This article was originally published in Oklahoma Monthly, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 1977. Read "The Stories
Mike Boettcher
“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
Out, Proud, and Under the Collar
Nearly every Sunday morning while growing up in northwest Oklahoma City, my father would plop me into a plastic milk
Tamara Lebak
From Russia, with Love
In southeast Tulsa, among dozens of strip centers whose anodyne facades betray all manner of capitalistic guts within,
Beau Adams
The Tiger King Untamed
“Hang on, I’m gonna go out there and throw up.” Near the end of our first hour-long interview, Joe Exotic, a.k.a.
Holly Wall
Centennial Celebrations: Allan Houser Exhibits
On June 30 of this year, the world celebrates the centennial anniversary of Allan Houser's birth. In Oklahoma, nearly
Tony Beaulieu
Rev. G. Calvin McCutchen Sr.
Reverend G. Calvin McCutchen Sr. is pastor emeritus of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Tulsa. After the church was
Jeremy Charles
Enormity and Image
The evening of May 31 and the morning of June 1 marked an event of racial violence that culminated in the looting and
I. Marc Carlson
Redbirds on Greenwood
As many seek knowledge of what happened in Tulsa during its formative years, I am in search of the history of my
J. Kavin Ross
The Oklahoma City King (and Queen) of Pride
I met Floyd recently at Oklahoma City’s Habana Inn on a Saturday afternoon, just minutes after 30 gay men paraded
Randy R Potts
Oklahoma’s Oddest Festivals and Other Events
From the slightly strange to the downright bizarre, here are Oklahoma’s weirdest festivals and events. God bless our
This Land
Steps to Nowhere
Just north of downtown Tulsa there is a vast empty area, about a half-mile long by a third of a mile wide. This
Michael D. Bates
Oklahoma’s Best Cultural Festivals
Fortunately for its residents and visitors, Oklahoma is made up of a diverse people, representing cultures far and
Molly Evans
Justa Few Beers
The year before, 1981, we’d moved to a new house in Nichols Hills with a pool. It was the summer after my freshman
Blake Bailey
Surrey with the Fringe on Top
A black bear has come out of the hills to the highway. He lumbers along the shoulder and throws a great paw out. A
Karin C. Davidson
Original Okie: Victor Moreland
Victor Moreland hails from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he got his start playing professional soccer before coming
This Land
The Soul of the Game
All this man wants to do right now is find the damn game. It’s a Saturday in the middle of the European football
RJ Young
GUIDE: Oklahoma’s Best Food Festivals
Nothing brings people together quite like food. Food can be a means of traversing cultural barriers, a way of
Brooks Nickell
Life Among the Pick-Ups
I had a doctor confess to me that he went through a bit of a “mid-life crisis” recently and started to bike to
Jonathan Gaboury
GUIDE: The Best Things to Do in Oklahoma in June
Summer is in full swing in Oklahoma, and June’s calendar is already looking pretty packed. To help you plan, we’ve
Tony Beaulieu
GUIDE: Oklahoma’s Best Music Festivals
Since Oklahoma’s festival season lasts just as long as its tornado season, it’s important to take precautions for
Molly Evans
Gateway to America
In many ways, southwest Kansas is just as you’d imagine it. The land is wide open, and the wind constantly races
Benet Magnuson
GUIDE: Oklahoma Art Festivals
Oklahoma is filled to the brim with visual and performance art events—enough to occupy nearly every weekend of your
Molly Evans
The Dust Bowl Interviews
In the fall of 2011, hordes of young people set up tent communities in front of government and financial buildings
Amy Gastelum
Bill Crawford
Bill Crawford, aged 90, photographed in Cardin, Oklahoma, in the vacant lot where his home of 66 years once stood. A
Travis Marak
The New Joads
Part of the work put in by John Steinbeck in preparation for writing The Grapes of Wrath was a series of articles
Brian Ted Jones
Dispatches from the Weedpatch Camp
Like many pejoratives, the word “Okie” has been reclaimed—particularly within the borders of its namesake
Thomas Conner
Original Okie: Gary Busey
Gary Busey is a toothy-grinned character actor who began his career as a percussionist in his Stillwater-based band,
This Land
Lynn Riggs at the University of Oklahoma
One likes to think of Lynn Riggs’ days at the University of Oklahoma as among his most happy and most satisfying.
Charles Aughtry
Broadway’s Forgotten Man
It’s 1945, and our setting is a Christmas party in Manhattan. The celebrants are show-business professionals
Charles Morrow
Kristen Vails
Kristen Vails is the executive director of the Plaza District in Oklahoma City, a burgeoning artists' community and
Nathan Poppe
Outlaw on the Big Screen
He was born Napoleon Blackstone Vann, but ever since he was a little shaver, "Nip" Vann was destined to be a
Andy Taylor
Evel Knievel Comes to Cooperville (and to Weldon Jack)
In 1972, Oklahoma City car dealer Jack Cooper brought Evel Knievel to town for a jump at the Oklahoma City
This Land
Confidence in Culture
The Oklahoma legislature first approved the construction of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in 1994 to
James McGirk
Jesus in the Wichitas
His name was Kroger Babb. He made and relentlessly promoted a famous “hygiene film” called Mom and Dad, which was
John Wooley
To Boldly Go
With life science and research advancements within the cosmetology field, there are many amazing products that have the
Samuel Annis
Invisible State
I was 17 when I first encountered Invisible Man. I inhaled it over the summer before my senior year, passing
Jezy J. Gray
Father of Fight Club
In 1945, an unassuming black man from Oklahoma City began constructing an intricate book inside a barn in Vermont.
Michael Mason
In the Territory: A Look at the Life of Ralph Ellison
Originally published in the May 7, 2007, issue of The New Yorker, Volume 83, No. 11. Copyright © 2007 Hilton Als.
Hilton Als
Go Home, Grandma
In 1955, 67-year-old Emma Gatewood became the first woman to walk all 2,050 miles of the Appalachian Trail by herself.
Ben Montgomery
Nelson Mandela’s Friend in Tulsa
The year 2013 ended with the world mourning for South Africa’s first black president, Nelson “Madiba” Mandela,
J. Kavin Ross
First Charged, Last Freed
John the Baptist moved to Tulsa in 1899. The Stradford family called him J. B. He was a former Kentucky slave who was
Steve Gerkin
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
The Rusty Brotherhood (La Hermandad Rusty)
Alberto Fuguet is a writer, a Guggenheim fellow, and, according to Newsweek, one of the “50 most important Latin
Alberto Fuguet
Original Okie: Rosetta Funches
Rosetta Funches is the founder and director of the Oklahoma Black Museum and Performing Arts Center in Oklahoma City.
Shane Brown
The Other Mother Road
Pour yourself a sipping drink and get comfortable. I am going to tell you a story. It’s about a postal worker named
Michael Wallis
Original Okie: Bob Wills
Bob Wills parades through downtown Tulsa on a September day in 1956. The King of Western Swing celebrates his birthday
Howard Hopkins
The Fine Line of Drunk Driving
One night early in my teenage years my father and uncle commanded me into the back seat of a pickup truck that belonged
Brian Ted Jones
Katia Anaya
Katia Anaya is part of the fifth-generation of her family’s business, Pancho Anaya Mexican Bakery, which began in
Melissa Lukenbaugh
City With a Cause: Tulsa Proclaims James Dean Week
WHEREAS, the late James Dean, during his all-too-brief career as a motion picture star, exerted a powerful and
This Land
Taste the State
Oklahoma has its fair share of tourist spots: Several roadside attractions line the highways. There are 35 state parks,
This Land
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
The Chicken that Crossed the Road
Headlines, like alarms, rang out: “Historic Bar Burns in Okarche” and “Famous Eischen’s Called Total Loss.”
This Land
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
Oklahoma Is for Lovers
Imaginary Oklahoma is an ongoing project in which some of today’s most important and influential writers combine
Alexander Yates
Brian Hearn
Brian Hearn is the film curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, which screens more than 300 films a year. In 2006,
Nathan Poppe
In the Field
The red fox flashes in the field, and the mind wants to stop it. Run the catalogue of what it knows, put a
Michael Madonick
Lauren Zuniga
Lauren Zuniga has lived in 60 houses in Oklahoma City. This is most likely attributed to her fear of commitment and
Nathan Poppe
The Purpose Is to Direct
“Even though the suspicion is probably not justified, it is hoped that the persevering reader will lay down the book
Larry Guthrie
Grandma’s Panties
“I have something to tell you,” Daddy said as we sat around the table eating red Jell-o for dessert one
Janis Cramer
Boys Will Be Boys
Mr. Smith was an old-fashioned cowboy. He wore tight Wranglers with a circle burned into the back pocket where he kept
John Paul Brammer
Odd Man In
When I was three, I choked on an Oscar Meyer wiener and lost consciousness, turned blue, and was ambulanced to the
Sam Harris
Heroes of Skedee
About eight miles northeast of Pawnee, Oklahoma, is Skedee, a six-block, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it ghost of a town.
Richard Higgs
Meet the Filmmakers: Sterlin Harjo and Matt Leach
The first feature-length documentary from This Land Films, This May Be The Last Time, made its world premiere at the
This Land
The Sounds of Endurance
The Scottish missionaries boarded their ship and crowded its deck, smiling and waving to their loved ones, who stood
This Land
Randall Gabrel
Randall Gabrel moved his oil and gas firm to Woodward, Oklahoma, four years ago to be closer to his mother after his
Shane Brown
The Big Not So Easy
Don’t believe what you have heard. This ain’t an easy place to live. People warn you when you are new to the
Mark Chandler
Tami Teeters
Tami Teeters saved three things before her Mannford home was engulfed by a wildfire in August of last year: a pair of
Matt Leach
Locker Room Confidential
Rob and I watched the scrimmage from the sidelines, helmets off. We weren’t getting any playing time, so why bother
Russell Cobb
The Ease of Trout
where the road descends steeply as it twists like gorgeous wreckage and there is always brightness like
Jeffrey Skemp
Robert Hedgecoke
R.L. Hedgecoke, a Cherokee/Scots-Irish/Metis-Canadian/English World War II veteran, lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He grew
Shane Brown
Petro State
Between 1910 and 1960, as the population of the city of Tulsa swelled from 18,000 to 261,000, the world was being
James McGirk
And Satan Came Also
A greater threat to a peaceful, civilized community than the outlaw bands that terrorized, plundered, and killed was
Albert McRill
Kaylin Haught
Kaylin Haught is an Oklahoma poet. She lives in Grove, in a house older than the state that's abbreviated on her mail.
Sheilah Bright
The Number of Heaven and Earth
They stole chickens and slaughtered cows they castrated pigs they cut the tails off piglets they followed deer
John Colburn
Poetry as Machine
You can love a machine and think poetry is not for you. But if you love a machine, you already love poetry. A few
Shaun Perkins
God Says Yes to Me
I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic and she said yes I asked her if it was okay to be short and she said
Kaylin Haught
The Sound of Poetry
I don’t remember her name. I do remember that I interrupted her quiet. She was a plump, youngish woman, sitting in
Abby Wendle
Shoes Without Laces
Eldon Dykes’ father arrived on Sunday nonstop Greyhound bus from Oklahoma for a visit Next morning after
Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel
A Stiller Ground
I walked in graveyards, gathering trash and fallen branches. I pulled weeds that obscured the names on old headstones
Gordon Grice
The Ghost of Hank Williams Returns to Cain’s Ballroom
The last time, he was sitting on a stump in a cone of yellow light and cigarette smoke, and the bats
Markham Johnson
Giving Poetry Another Chance
Salman Rushdie said: “A poet’s work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments,
Nathan Brown