Big Time Pawn
Big Time Pawn is a family-owned pawn shop located on Route 66 at 11th and Pittsburg in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over the years
Lee Roy Chapman
Filter / Sort
Terrence Malick’s Bartlesville Home
The former home of Academy Award winnng nominated director of Badlands and Thin Red Line Terrence Malick is located
Lee Roy Chapman
Wanenmacher Arms Show
Gilded guns and rusted relics dominate the tabletops that stretch end to end across the QuikTrip Center, covering both
Sarah Szabo
Theatre of the Absurd
I’m a fiction writer, but I’m not a very good creative writer. Like a lot of writers, I steal shamelessly from
Larry Baker
Letter from Brazil
Growing up in Oklahoma was a great education in life, as it opened my eyes to the racism, classism and hate in the
Gary Dotterman
Misconduct City
The white ’75 Buick Regal races through the red light at 51st Street and careens left onto 129th East Avenue. Tulsa
Joshua Kline
Get a Head of Steam for Your Self-Esteem
Write a note of affirmation with a good fountain pen and thick creamy paper and put it in your purse, wallet or lunch,
Sam Lipsyte
The Seeds of Corruption
The Tulsa Police Department is arguably the most embattled police force in the country. Rocked by a recent corruption
Michael Mason
Valentin Esparza
Locked away in a bedroom-turned-workshop is T-Town fashionista Valentin Esparza, whose designs have taken the city by
Michael Cooper
Mother Orpha
The 1970 Cole’s Cross Reference Directory—an avocado-green volume in the corner of the fourth floor of Central
Natasha Ball
Create, Control, Destroy
There’s a field, straddling an invisible property line several miles east of the Hard Rock Casino, somewhere in the
Joshua Kline
The Reign of Creepy
Dental records proved the badly decomposed body that washed up on the Crystal Beach shores of Ontario, minus hands and
Steve Gerkin
George Matson
George Matson is a particularly beloved figure in the Southern Hills community, where he spent fifty five years with
Michael Cooper
Original Okie: David Horne
Eccentric street musician David Horne serenades his beloved companion,
Michael Cooper
Gateway
The developers of Gateway Plaza wanted a politically neutral moniker for the project they hoped would set off a new era
Denver Nicks
Tacos El Rinconcito
Under the overpass at I-44 and Yale, past the construction that slowly but surely progresses, the boulevard widens to
This Land
Letter from Brooklyn
Moving to New York was a no-brainer. When I was a 2-year-old, my father took me on my first harbor boat. He wrapped his
Juan Reinoso
Ray and Jaruwan
Jaruwan Slovacek had to cross an ocean to find love, but Ray Slovacek took on the tougher journey of crossing over to
Rebekah Greiman
Eastland: Where Malls Go When They Die
Mock-tiled carpet, beige and hypnotic, spreads out beneath a grim gunmetal ceiling that is broken only by the central
Sarah Szabo
Woody Guthrie & Unions Amen!
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers. - Isaiah 58: 3 Our song
Thomas Conner
Woody Guthrie’s Social Gospel Roots
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was named in the summer of 1912 on a hope that his namesake would become President, and he did.
Larry Guthrie
Original Okie: Andrew Bones
Andrew Bones is a percussionist for several Tulsa-based bands, including The Panda Resistance and
Michael Cooper
Earl Walker: Okemah’s Unsung Hero
On December 14, 1972, the New York Times ran an article with the headline, “Woody Guthrie’s hometown is divided on
Joshua Kline
Baby Boomer
Checotah (AP)—Tim Rutledge, a local meat inspector, and his wife signed a national letter of intent Tuesday morning
Beau Adams
Ashes to Ashes
Just outside Bokoshe, Oklahoma is a winding stretch of properties known as “the loop.” The land is heavily wooded
Gene Perry
Toni Willis & Matthew Edwards
Kismet brought Matthew Edwards and Toni Willis to OSU OU in 1995, but music brought them together. Edwards, then a
Rebekah Greiman
Of All Places
His mother said it was Oklahoma that was making him nuts, blaming the whole state when the only place he ever went was
Lori Ostlund
American Radical
In Pampa, Texas, Guthrie lived through the catastrophe that would enable him to identify with many of the migrants he
Will Kaufman
Letter from San Francisco
They say that you should never follow a girl, but I did. I followed an Oklahoma peach to Oklahoma. She lured me out of
Jason D. Westenburg
Aboard the Dixie Train
I called ahead. The hostess at Crow Creek Tavern said former American Idol contestant Matt Breitzke—the Oklahoman
Shawna Lewis
Heaven and Heart: The Tense Past of Michael Been
Methodist church basement, northwest Oklahoma City, 1987. Yes, there is wood paneling. Yes, the carpet is shag, a rich
Thomas Conner
Letter from South America
My wife was running out of makeup. “You should wait and get it in Buenos Aires,” I told her. “It’s the Paris
Russell Cobb
Original Okie: Grace Grothaus
New Orleans-born, South Carolina-raised Grace Grothaus moved to Tulsa only four years ago, but her influence in the
Michael Cooper
The Greatest of Ease
When he was 22—old enough to know better— Anton Von Ostendorf ran away with the circus. A gymnast, ballet
Holly Wall
Electric to Eco Trolley: Champions of Tulsa Transportation
Sitting at the bar in Doe’s Eat Place, I gazed up Quincy Street daydreaming a nostalgic movie reel of an era gone by.
Steve Gerkin
The Tender of the Flames
I bartend at a pub constructed predominantly of wood. We don’t do flaming Dr Peppers, Spanish coffees, or any other
Laura Carrera
Building a Frog
Guide the scalpel with milk-wrinkled hands fine-honed point tracing delicate veins. Gently peel back transparent
John Wooley
The Forest That Ate Washington Irving
If you’d have talked to Washington Irving the night before he set out from Fort Gibson on his 1832 romp through Green
Natasha Ball
Danielle and Wilson
The curtains parted and the crowds applauded as Wilson Lema and Danielle Cap-Lema danced across the stage. In
Rebekah Greiman
Center of the Universe
Something goes on here, the echo magic. We step over the spot and echoes bounce from our voices. The warehouse,
Ann Zoller
Okemah Masonic Lodge (1927-2011)
It was built to be our state headquarters but ended up being home to Okemah’s Freemasons. Now that
Shawna Lewis
The Bottomless Ache of the Revolution
When I first saw him, Jose Antonio Pantoja Hernández was standing behind a display of several of his paintings. Just
Michael Mason
Kafka’s Nature Theatre of Oklahoma
Kafka called his unfinished novel The Man Who Disappeared. But the fact that nobody outside academia does so is
James Hawes
September Events
RUMBLE FISH SCREENING--Public Secrets #13 Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film Rumble Fish, based on the novel by SE
This Land
Scott Raffe (1964-2011)
The day Raffe died, rockets exploded in the skies over Tulsa and beyond— festive bursts of red, white, and blue,
This Land
Our Town
Our town typically names streets, schools, sometimes-entire neighborhoods and commercial districts after people who
James O. Goodwin
Beno Hall: Tulsa’s Den of Terror
The monstrous, three-story, steel reinforced, stucco building towered along the western edge of Greenwood. It dominated
Steve Gerkin
Small Town, Big Top
It’s not every day that the average Oklahoman gets to see an elephant raise a circus tent. Even photographer Kenneth
Rosie LoVoi
Kite Riders in the Sky
I watched a man I’d just met lug what looked like an industrial tricycle into the middle of an open soccer field. He
Natasha Ball
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
Norman’s Forgotten Legacy
Project Nim opens September 9 at the Circle Cinema, 10 S. Lewis Ave. Bob Ingersoll will do question-and-answer
Joshua Kline
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
The Story of Tulsa
The following is an anonymous document from the Governor John Walton Papers, on file in the Western History
This Land
Eugene Brady Adkins (1920-2006)
Eugene Brady Adkins was the grandson of W. Tate Brady, who came to Tulsa in 1890 and helped turn a tiny town into a
Shawna Lewis
To the Knights of Liberty
This verse appeared on the front page of the Tulsa Daily World on November 15, 1917. EDITOR’S NOTE: “The tarring
F.L. Lanford
True Hero
The true hero of the Tulsa Riots was A.J.Smitherman who preached law and order and condemned the mob. He was editor of
Ishmael Reed
Tate Brady, the Magic City, and the Dreamland
Tate Brady, as Lee Roy Chapman points out, did a lot of good for Tulsa, but the positives came with lots of negatives.
Alfred L. Brophy
Especially the Zebras
Two giant Aldabra tortoises with wide dark eyes are on the move around their scrubby domain. The front one stops. Not
Amy Leach
John & Holly Upthegrove
It’s the same old story: Boy with the funny last name meets girl and they marry. Boy and girl have three children
Rebekah Greiman
Lost Olinka
One of Oklahoma’s great mysteries, either unknown to or ignored by most of its populace, is what became of a
Holly Wall
The Frozen Zone
There is a wonderful yet horrifying scene at the end of The Grey Zone, Tim Blake Nelson’s harrowing film about the
Brian Schwartz
Jeff & Amber Whitlatch
Amber Whitlatch puffed at her purple-red bangs, introducing herself and her husband Jeff from my porch. After the
Rebekah Greiman
Dottie Clark (1924-2011)
Dottie Clark was thrilled when the judges named her first runner-up in the Mrs. Tulsa pageant. But her husband, Elmer,
Shawna Lewis
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
Letter from Borneo: The Land Beneath the Wind
I have been on a path the last few months directed by the winds. Following signs, much like a scavenger hunt, that lead
Erin Turner
The Hand of Man
On a recent Tuesday morning, around 36 8-year-olds and I were watching a bright yellow longhorn cowfish bob around its
Ginger Strand
Aaron & Jessica
Littering the kitchen countertop was a mess of costumes, accessories, and makeup found typically in the back recesses
Rebekah Greiman
Skilly Forsman(1922-2011)
In the Tulsa dance and etiquette scene, Skilly Forsman was it. For 68 years, she taught kids of all ages to move with
Shawna Lewis
Taking the Wool by the Horns
Mutton busting is that curiosity tucked between lines of tall letters on rodeo posters, usually toward the bottom.
Natasha Ball
Sex in the City
How well do any of us know our grandmothers? They are worthy of in-depth investigation, because behind the gentle,
Clara Nipper
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
Silkwood
When Richard Rashke’s The Killing of Karen Silkwood was published in 1981, it was a groundbreaking, whistle-blowing
Sarah Denton
Harriet Peake (1924-2011)
There was no screaming, victory dancing, or even wild applause. There were no bruises or scabs. As sports go, croquet
Shawna Lewis
Desiderata
In the valley the treetops are bandaged in a dirty gauze the fields lusty with flames set to startle another growing
Justin L. Bond
Tigress: The Life and Times of Kathryn Kelly
They were mostly dead by then, the girlfriends, mothers, and wives of the 1930s era gangsters who once dominated front
Laurence J. Yadon
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
Goose Dragoo
Michael "Goose" Dragoo is a longtime Tulsa drummer and vocalist in such acts as Soul Avengers and Jazzbos. In
Grant McClintock
Hook, Line, and Stringtown
While traveling Route 75, I’ve passed by an unassuming little shack hundreds of times. Years ago, when my dad and I
Jenny Sullivan
Reader, Meet Author
Not that it happens very often, but when asked who my favorite contemporary writer is, I always split it down the
Robert Dumont
Oklahoma Revealed!
In the spring of 2009, a cohort of evangelical Southern Baptists under the nom du groupe “The Singing Men of
Denver Nicks
Rabbi Marc Boone Fitzerman
In this installment of True Tulsa, Michael Cooper presents a black and white portrait of the beloved Rabbi Marc
Michael Cooper
Of Vice and Men: a Killing
A paved road in rural Oklahoma; on either side, miles of rolling grassland, the grass tall and pale with autumn. My
Gordon Grice
Chris and Hannah Middlebrook
“As a child I was a little afraid of clowns,” Steven Cater admitted while awaiting Clonky’s arrival at his son
Anna Kathleen Casey
Sports Illustration: Weekend Warrior
Our first Sports Illustration by Jeremy Luther depicts the downtrodden--but not despairing--TU football
Jeremy Luther
Jazz on a Diamond-Needle Hi-Fi
Mama dropped the needle and my heart jumped. It was fascinating, titillating, be-boppin’, foot stompin’, traffic
Deborah J. Hunter
The Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light
The most popular porn of the jav censored are in gossip, over the internet. Having Her plump, cherry red lips are
Joshua Kline
Elizabeth Ashwood Davis (1977-2011)
While planning her wedding and shopping for a publisher, Tulsa author Elizabeth Ashwood Davis died suddenly in her
Shawna Lewis
Plagiarism Plagues the Urban Tulsa Weekly
The cartoonist David Simpson, formerly of the alternative publication Urban Tulsa Weekly, has admitted to copying the
This Land
The Stringtown Prison Blues
A collaborative blues poem written by the Stringtown Prison Poetry Workshop. This time is so hard to do
This Land
Let Them Beat Cake
Janine Esler’s entry for the 2011 Grand National Wedding Cake Competition rode in the back of her van through five
Natasha Ball
Sports Illustration: What to Wear?
Jeremy Luther presents the fashion dilemmas of two Oklahoma state college football
Jeremy Luther
Original Okie: Dan Mayo
Dan Mayo is a painter, photographer, producer and art collector in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this special True Tulsa double
Grant McClintock
The World is Yours: A Portrait of Joe Brainard
Joe Brainard made art the way some might obsess over a lover: in an all-consuming frenzy and for hours on
Holly Wall
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
“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
SPORTS ILLUSTRATION:Betting in Texas Hold ‘Em
The stakes are high, so why is nobody blinking? Texas is holding, with a fancy new TV network and deep stack of chips.
Jeremy Luther
Carlos Knight
In this feature, our social media editor Vicki May Thorne meets and greets the staff and contributors of
Vicki May Thorne
Annie Ellicott
Annie Ellicott is a prolific singer, songwriter, and actress in
Ralph Cole
One Long Soundless Scream
Yevgeny Yevtushenko teaches English at the University of Tulsa. His poetry has been translated into 72
Jeff Martin
Letter from Siberia
It was a pretty typical school trip, on the surface. A group of middle school students from Tulsa and Claremore, a few
Cecilia Whitehurst