The Spirit of Totem Pole Park
arti ficer n. 1. a skilled craftsman 2. a clever or inventive designer 3. (Military) a serviceman trained in
Tim Brown
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In Belgium, There is no (Near) Beer
With as much time on the road as I spend, it’s not unusual to come back home to Tulsa and be asked for vacation
Aric S. Queen
Happy Trails
Co-written by Ron Honn & Heather Lindsey. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him: “Where are
This Land
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
The Falling
Where I come from, rain is the same thing as love, Falling rarely, and spoken about even less. Daddy tells me the
Preston Wells
It was Magic
Seventies’ Tulsa was the era of musical gurus and barefoot mystics. It was the boomers’ golden era and time has
Lindsey Neal Kuykendall
A Portis Reader
Nobody re-reads better than Charles Portis. In fact, nobody re-re-reads better than Portis. Thus, having his
Robert Dumont
The Forgotten River
From Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany, published October 2012 by Butler Center Books, edited by Jay
Charles Portis
N. Scott Momaday
Sterlin Harjo photographs Lawton Native N. Scott Momaday, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with his 1969
Sterlin Harjo
Peeling in the Years
On October 3, Britain’s IT1 network aired a documentary, Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, in which 10 women
Thomas Conner
Oklahoma Lacks Phoenixes, Albatrosses
My sadness is heart-achingly Boring And normal; we all feel it: The blue and gold dusk Over a small town. I
Phil Estes
Beyond Barnard
After the backhoes and bulldozers had left, all that was standing were the trees. But if the trees could talk, they’d
Jeremy Bailey
Mr. Ray Fits a Suit
When I walk into Ray’s Tailor Shop, I immediately notice the ordered disorder of the two-room store. Directly in
Michael Berglund
The Ritual of Mimosas
A mimosa is a simple drink. Combine three parts champagne to one part orange juice in a champagne flute and brunch
Jennie Lloyd
Pairings
The taste of red wine and dark chocolate Swirlin’ together inside my mouth is Like smoke escaping from the
Jenny Sullivan
Anthony McDermid
Anthony McDermid is a founding principal at TAP Architecture and has been living in Oklahoma for 35 years. His efforts
Nathan Poppe
Letter from the Pacific
“What ya thinking about?” Nick said with a yawn. “Oklahoma.” “Oklahoma? Why?” “Cuz, this reminds
Jason D. Westenburg
Hello, My Name Is…
“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.” —Diogenes Laertius, 3rd Century Greek
Aaron Cord Siemers
Thinking Big and Dreaming Large
For a moment, try to imagine our city without the Cain’s Ballroom. Now also consider downtown Tulsa without the
Walt Kosty
Letter from New York
If you look at the radar images, hurricanes look like tornadoes on growth hormones, making twisters back home resemble
Sarah Graalman
Clea Alsip
Clea Alsip was born and raised in Tulsa and went to Booker T. Washington High School. She received her bachelor's
Deborah Lopez
Creative Intention
It was a nitrate negative that marshaled an august tribute for its 2012 re-release—and a movie poster of the finest
Adrian Margaret Brune
Confessions of a Designated Hitter
At first glance, the photos appear to tell the whole story. Here is Drake halfback/quarterback Johnny Bright,the first
Russell Cobb
My Mother is a Chicken
My mother’s brothers married odd birds. Frances was a wild-eyed zany with a voice like a trapped cat and a way of
This Land
A Year with the Bison
Spring The wallows are full. Egrets range on bison backs --- colors rise
Erin Glanville Brown
They Call Me Assassin
Some places are lonelier than others, and the place he’d found himself on this particular night was the most solitary
Chris Sandel
Where’s the Money?
Freddie smiled to himself as he drove past the country club and turned into his Southern Hills neighborhood after
Laurence J. Yadon
The History of the Tulsa Holiday Parade of Lights
J.M. Hall, the often-called Father of Tulsa who partnered with his brother H.C. in the early 1880s to build Tulsa’s
Natasha Ball
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
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
The Watchman on the Wall
As an orphan, Billy James Hargis was an outsider from birth. Imagining the first time his adoptive mother saw him in
Stanton Doyle
Begetting Bats
A single bat represents one out of every four or five mammals on earth. The Mexican free-tailed bat is the speedster of
Natasha Ball
Driveway
Again I slid up over the horizon and the lights of Tulsa spread flat out before me. “Ah, there you are,” I
Ron Padgett
Dr. and Mrs. Billy James Hargis
This photo is among those in the collection of Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett. The collection of negatives was salvaged
Howard Hopkins
Moving on from the Hoax
From The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future by Senator James Inhofe, published by
James Mountain Inhofe
Herding Sheep
We picked up Robert last because he lived closest to the highway, my friend following a white car to the small house at
Jennifer Westbrook
The Ballad of Bob Kerr
The story of Robert S. Kerr begins in the sticks and ends in the stars. Born in a tiny, log cabin near the trading post
Steve Gerkin
Tormented by Tootlevision
A 7th-grade Clyde Lofton Jr. built a world to himself on the banks of Mingo Creek out behind his south Tulsa
Ray Davis
Something Good is Going to Happen to You
I was twelve years old when it happened, in the 7th grade, attending Victory Christian School on 71st Street in South
Randy R Potts
Buster Keaton Was Not an Okie
Several months ago, I was in New York City for a few days, traveling alone and on a tight schedule. But there was one
Jeff Martin
Vintage Smith
Walla Walla--The Lost Weekenders were seated on the lawn, awaiting instruction, when their leader emerged from the
This Land
South by Midwest: Or, Where is Oklahoma?
I'm not much of a Facebook person. Most of the time, I passively scroll through status updates while avoiding doing
Russell Cobb
Lost in Translation
When I was 14, I began a passionate love affair with William Faulkner. As you might expect in such an unusual
Laura Raphael
Critical Mass
Lifted their bikes up- side down above their thousand heads and cheered locked the grid blocked the
John Brehm
Mother Orpha
The 1970 Cole’s Cross Reference Directory—an avocado-green volume in the corner of the fourth floor of Central
Natasha Ball
The Life and Death of a Choctaw Witch Killer
At the turn of the 20th century, in Holdenville, Indian Territory, Solomon Hotema, a local tribal leader, was tried and
This Land
Ike’s Wounded Knee
Throughout history, American army generals have faced bitter defeats before achieving their greatest military triumphs.
Joe Medina
Sh*tty Mom
The following is an excerpt from Sh*tty Mom: The Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us, by Laurie Kilmartin, Karen Moline,
This Land
Ripples in a Lake
Tales of the Dust Bowl years recall an era punctuated by the absence of water. In reality, it was a combination of
Amy Hardberger
The Strange Love of Dr. Billy James Hargis
Little Rock was shell-shocked. It was July of 1960, and in the past year, five bombings had terrorized the city’s
Lee Roy Chapman
Rocket to the Moon
Jim Bridenstine leaned back in a swivel desk chair, a green flight jacket zipped over his dress shirt and tie, the wall
Holly Wall
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
Handout Horticulture
From River Republic: The Rise and Fall of America's Rivers by Daniel McCool, published by Columbia University Press and
Daniel McCool
The Destructiveness of Partisanship
From the earliest periods of our nation’s history, thoughtful leaders have worried about the dangers posed by
David L. Boren
The Politics of Clout
Even though final votes are still months away from being cast and counted in the 2012 elections, Oklahoma is about to
Jim Myers
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
The Tulsa Irish
My freshman year roommate was a five-foot-one Korean-American via Seoul, Los Angeles, and New York. She had never
Claire Spears
Tino Tudisco
Tino Tudisco does tailoring and alteration in his shop in the Sinclair Building on Bartlett Square in downtown Tulsa. A
Jeremy Charles
It’ll Be Dammed
From “Dams on the Grand River,” originally published in the Fall 1948 edition of The Chronicles of Oklahoma.
W.R. Holway
Robbers Cave Revisited
My first sight on entering Camp Tom Hale—three hours southeast of Tulsa, off County Road 249—was a white pickup
Gene Perry
Troubled Waters III: Balancing Act
This is the third installment of a three-part series about Oklahoma's water wars, starting with the edition of This
Ginger Strand
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
Life at the Tower: A Remembrance of Alex Cockburn
The first time I met Alex Cockburn we were staying in The Tower, the beautiful box of light Alex had built on the
Sheryl Chard
Elvis Presley and the Tea Party Nation
I first noticed it in 1973, when I was working at Harrah’s Tahoe, the populist casino that bussed in hundred of white
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Catfish Hunter
I stepped carefully into a small, black bass boat with four near strangers, one of them offering his hand to guide
Holly Wall
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
Mikey Burnett
Mikey Burnett fought for The Lion’s Den, among the earliest teams to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Brandon Scott
Rooftop Raccoons
A triumvirate of sad-eyed raccoons lounging on the roof of an apartment building in Stillwater benignly
T. Allen Culpepper
Troubled Waters, Part II
Oklahoma's Water Wars Pit the City Versus the Country, the State Against the Tribes. While the Parties Do Battle in
Ginger Strand
Why We Won’t Stop Fighting About Water
The events of the last decade have caused Oklahomans to view water resources in three crucially new ways. These new
Miles Tolbert
Homegrown Paranoia
In June of 2010 I landed in Nairobi, Kenya and was immediately taxied to a mall in Westlands, a posh Nairobi suburb.
Steve Sherman
The Heritage Trees
On a rolling hill, wedged between downtown Tulsa and the mixed residential of Carson Heights, sits a small park with a
Spencer McCoy
Jewel of Denial
There was a time when waste was dumped in the streets of our cities, chamber pots were emptied out windows, and trash
Drew Edmondson
The Burning Bush
In the aftermath of the Creek County fires—during another triple-digit stretch in an already parched Oklahoma—This
Sheilah Bright
Ferris O’Brien
Ferris O’Brien is an Okie music enthusiast and owner of the independent radio station “The Spy” in Oklahoma
Nathan Poppe
Summons to Tulsa
Edwin spotted them the moment he stepped off the train. There were dozens of folks here to meet the Atlantic and
Louise Farmer Smith
The Last of Kenton
I have been trying to tell the story of Kenton, the westernmost town in Oklahoma, since last November, when I
Sheilah Bright
Cry Baby
You are the cat most like I was as a girl with a soft coat, fine reflexes, fresh eyes. I sat on many porches,
Jane Vincent Taylor
The Trouble with Henry
Mary Popkess marched into the Sand Springs football stadium under a full head of steam. She made straight for the
Anne Barajas Harp
That Tranquil Period
The University of Oklahoma is built on the Permian Redbed Plains. When I arrived, there were only a few buildings of
John Joseph Mathews
They Might Be Giants
Having finished a midday meal on their small kitchen stoves, a group of Native athletes walked from the
Steve Gerkin
Swingin’ Mick
Preston Peavy, a baseball hitting coach, uses kinematics in his Atlanta training facility to study the properties
Beau Adams
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
Troubled Waters, Part 1
This is the first installment of a three-part series about Oklahoma's water wars, starting with the edition of This
Ginger Strand
Forever Home on Mind
I wept into the sea; it did not overflow. (Buddhist meditation) Spread out over a great
Kyle Erickson
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
routine
every evening after the six o’clock i ate dinner, something fast, sitting at the desk. eight tv screens, three
Quraysh Ali Lansana
Rogers & Hammerstein and the Two Sids
The following is written by Barry Friedman and Ken Rogerson. On October 14, 1941, Richard
This Land
Commute
A famous architect just passed me. He wore a ponytail and turned the steering wheel with one hand. Maybe he was
Chad Reynolds
Lewis Meyer
Lewis Meyer ran the Lewis Meyer Bookstore on Brookside from 1935 to 1994. He hosted “Lewis Meyer’s Bookshelf” on
This Land
The Sawblade Painter
In the morning, he examines her. Though she is nineteen to his thirty-two, Don finds her garish in the clean light.
Whitney Ray
The Demons
Sing with me, sing for the year, sing for the laughter and sing for the tears. —Aerosmith, “Dream On” Tommy
Eddie Chuculate
Cargo
What is on the train rolling through my city so important the conductor sounds the whistle every other second from
Chad Reynolds
The Net Effect
It was hot as hell. And it was July in Tulsa and I was on the wrong side of town. At least that’s what my friends
Renzi Stone
The King in Okemah
Debbie Keef sat on the sidewalk in her black sweat suit, Elvis Presley’s signature in nail heads on her right hip.
Natasha Ball
Headlining the Hippodrome
The architect, like a divine creator surveying six days of work, righteously declared that the boxy, beige, concrete
Holly Wall
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
The Buckhorn Inn
That-which-regions is an abiding expanse which, gathering all, opens itself, so that in it openness is
David Bearden
Bearden Unbound
“I wonder if Dave Bearden still dislikes me.” —Ted Berrigan, The Sonnets LXXVI David Omer Bearden was born in
Robert Dumont
Critical Mass
Lifted their bikes up- side down above their thousand heads and cheered locked the grid blocked the
John Brehm