Galarshes
drink me, rain says it’s hard to swallow the whole world dry so drink me everything tastes better in Oklahoma
Jennie Lloyd
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Home on the Range
My husband and I pulled into the parking lot of the United States Shooting Academy early in the morning, taking a
Natasha Ball
Listen to the Radio a Lot
This Land Radio's top 5 of 2012. Photo by Hans J E. “Happy Moment? What You Mean?” Out of The
This Land
Letter of Resignation
David Murphy TV Guide, Superstar 7140 S. Lewis Ave Tulsa, OK 74136 October 18, 2000 Dear Mr. Murphy, Due to the
David Desmond
In This Corner
Fifty years ago, 5-year-old Edward Fite was playing with a cap pistol on a limestone ledge overlooking the Illinois
Ann Patton
Hay is for Hosses
Kelly Cox towered over the loader with its arriving bale, wielding a hay hook in each hand like a pirate of the plains,
Steve Gerkin
Letter from Thailand
Bangkok is a city of contrast. If you look up, you see the future; if you look down, you see the past. In the late
Matt Phipps
Long Live Radio: A Letter from This Land’s Publisher
Dear Reader, This issue includes a piece about Lum and Abner, a radio show from the early 20th century. In this
Vincent LoVoi
Rare Earth
Woody Guthrie’s first book, the autobiographical Bound for Glory, was originally published in 1943. Like any
Thomas Conner
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
ME HEAD: Playmate Profiles
PLAYMATE: Friedrich Nietzsche BIRTHDATE: October 15, 1844 BIRTHPLACE: Rocken, Saxony BUST: 42’’ WAIST:
Lauren Sullivan
ORIGINAL OKIE: Michael Wallis
Michael Wallis is Oklahoma's most famous connoisseur of Route 66 and the American West. His name has appeared on
Terrence Moore
Books About Tulsa: A Tour
1. Oklahoma by Harlow, Victor E. This is my mother’s favorite Oklahoma history textbook. It smells like
Ben Lytal
The Oktahutchee Claims One of its Own
“Tell all the people that Alex Posey is out here and about to be drowned and to come out and bring about three or
Richard Higgs
Vitriol Killed the Radio Star
These days, only the upper end of AARP qualifiers can remember it first hand. But there was a time, decades before the
John Wooley
ME HEAD: Heisenberg’s Pep Talk to the Brainerd Bears
Do you want to bring shame on Brainerd? Are you afraid to place an absolute, theoretical limit on the combined
David Bowman
Behold the Sky
The first time was arbitrary. I was the only early-morning visitor in the art gallery, and a security guard beckoned to
Michael Mason
Bridging the Ozarks to the Art World
After an impromptu drive around the neighborhoods of Bentonville—where Americana is in full swing and scenes from
Ariana Jakub
Original Okie: Lauren Lunsford
The occupations of Lauren Lunsford, a.k.a. Rainbow Girl, are nearly as numerous as the colors in her hair. An
This Land
Secrets of the Dust Bowl Digs
Years ago, buried beneath the University of Oklahoma football stadium, there was once an underground concrete cave,
Holly Wall
Dinosaur Illustration Submissions
We asked artists of all ages to send us their best Oklahoma dinosaur drawings for consideration for the cover of our
This Land
Horses and Dagger
Off rural Highway 16, along a dusty stretch of Bristow sits one of the largest live auction houses in Oklahoma. At
Jennie Lloyd
Inside the Abattoir
Chevideco, the Belgian horse meat conglomerate, touts a single story in its press section: a taste test held at a west
James McGirk
Howl for Me
Since April is National Poetry Month, we’re pleased to run poems by a pair of younger writers who participated in the
Nick Weaver
The B Side
Since April is National Poetry Month, we’re pleased to run poems by a pair of younger writers who participated in the
Bryonia Liggins
Diamond in the Rough
Diamond Dick Roland disappeared. Secreted out the door of the Tulsa County Jail into an awaiting car provided by
Steve Gerkin
Is This the Face of the Man at the Center of the Tulsa Race Riot?
In 1921, a young black man rode in an elevator with a young white woman. When the elevator doors opened, she screamed
This Land
The pages of the 1921 Booker T. Washington High School Yearbook
In the pages of the 1921 Booker T. Washington High School yearbook, long thought lost, are the first images we've
This Land
The Full Nelson’s
When I reached the register to pay for my lunch, I explained to Barry Rogers that I was writing a piece about
Claire Spears
Queen’s Gambit Declined
May 21, 2008. Radisson Hotel, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Frank K. Berry U.S. Chess Championship. Two International
Matthew Crouch
From One Fire
On an oppressively hot evening last May, David Cornsilk addressed a room of so-called “black Indians” at Gilcrease
Marcos Barbery
Shaun Perkins
Shaun Perkins forged the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry out of her father’s old machine shop as a tiny monument to
Natasha Ball
Struggle of the Three
Native Americans within the uprooted “Five Civilized Tribes” found a new home in “Indian Territory”—
Hannibal B. Johnson
The Tulsa Race Riot from a Writer’s Perspective
Originally published on the blog The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 on March 18, 2013. It is normal that we look upon
Evan Ramspott
Fifteen Faits Divers on the Tulsa Race Riot
A faits divers is a short news item, usually about three lines; they’re often stories of strange murders or bizarre
Brian Ted Jones
Dealing With Brady’s Legacy
Editor's note: The following news analysis article represents a deeper level of commitment to community news coverage.
Holly Wall
Cherokee Nation’s Constitutional Crisis
Cherokee Nation has what seems to be an unusual fixation with lawyers and writing—at least for an outsider looking
James McGirk
The Silence Teaches
Sitting down to speak with Oklahoma City photographer Yousef Khanfar about his art leads almost inevitably to one
Greg Horton
Victoria Fattig & Monica Sutter
Daughter/mother Victoria Fattig and Monica Sutter were both inmates at Mabel Bassett Correction Center in McLoud when
Yousef Khanfar
The Man in the Black Jersey
Thirty years ago, a petite woman with curly blonde hair approached Greg Saunders at a bike race just west of Austin,
Ian Dille
Dogs Playing Poker
A fine October Saturday in 1966, in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. A residential neighborhood within this community of a
Brian Ted Jones
Mr. Doolittle Goes to Washington
Strange as it may seem, during the first half of the 20th century, the conventions held by our two preeminent political
Charles Morrow
The Hawk Is Howling
Eighty-one-year-old Chris Rhodes has been eating the same thing in the same restaurant for 71 percent of his eating
This Land
Bob Waldrop
Bob Waldrop, a fourth-generation Oklahoman from Frederick, is a purveyor of peace, plants, and pianos. He is
Travis Marak
Burgers with Burkhard Bilger
Burkhard Bilger suffers from an incipient case of wanderlust. After nearly 14 years writing features for the New
Sarah Graalman
Joe Marak
Born in 1925 on a small farm in rural Oklahoma, Marak was a child of the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression and of World
Travis Marak
The Road to Woody’s Heart
An excerpt from a speech given at the opening of the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April 26, 2013. By
This Land
Nora and Woody Guthrie
Woody and Nora Guthrie in Brooklyn, New York. Summer 1950. Courtesy of Nora
This Land
Texas: Grasping at Straws
The case gave Justice Kagan a headache. Justice Ginsburg described parts of it as “sketchy,” and Justice Breyer
Ginger Strand
Youngwolfe Accused
Phyllis Jean Warren was missing for three weeks when she was found strangled in a brush pile 300 yards from her home.
Hunter Howe Cates
Letter From: China
Mr. Lee and I stop to stare at jars of pickled vipers. The Sunday market crowd in old Kaili snakes a detour around the
Sheilah Bright
Father of the Brotherhood
As a young man, John Griggs liked to fight. And he was good at it. Short, dark, wiry, and mean, his flair with a punch
Brian Ted Jones
Unusual Analogues: Drugs Used by Gordon Todd Skinner
Below is a list of substances Gordon Todd Skinner claimed to have used. He submitted this list to the court of Kansas
This Land
Guide to Gordon Todd Skinner
Who is Gordon Todd Skinner? Learn the story behind one of Oklahoma's most mesmerizing, notorious figures. Read:
This Land
The Governor Fiddled While His Prison Burned
The prison print shop was in a two-story building across from male clothing, and above me on the upper floor was the
Mickey Owens
Barry Bilder
Barry Bilder is the founder of Peace of Mind Bookstore, the oldest business on Tulsa's historic Cherry
This Land
Subterranean Psychonaut
He stood naked by the roadside with a blanket draped around his hips, feebly reaching out for the glimmering cars as
Michael Mason, Chris Sandel and Lee Roy Chapman
The Electric Elephant Acid Test
In the spring of 1962, Oklahoma City received a new resident: an adolescent bull elephant named Tusko, brought over
Steve Sherman
The Essential Guide to Tate Brady
When This Land published Lee Roy Chapman's "The Nightmare of Dreamland: Tate Brady and the Battle for Greenwood" in
This Land
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
Move Tulsa Forward
Dear City Councilors: Inertia comes in two forms: unmoving objects that resist change and moving objects that
Vincent LoVoi
Terror’s Legacy
Mark Freeman Jr. was just across the Kansas line from his 3,500-acre cattle ranch. It was in the early 1950s when he
Jason Christian
Opal Clark Moss
Opal Clark Moss, 101, grew up at the Sand Springs Children’s Home and published her first book at age 76. Last year,
Sheilah Bright
Oklahoma Boyhood
Each time I painted nails Brilliant Blush, Sparkle Silver, I’d land in the bathroom. Larry the Ladle or
Amy Susan Wilson
The Ghost Dance Religion Among the Cheyenne
From out of the West had come the word that the Great Spirit was going to right the wrongs visited upon His red
Donald N. Brown
Watts and Clary
Dressed only in his boxers, Wade Watts, a black civil rights activist, reclined on the sofa. He read the morning paper
Steve Gerkin
ORIGINAL OKIE: Officer Kaiser
Don't let Officer Kaiser's smile fool you. This Belgian Malinois is known on the Idabel Police Department as "the force
Sheilah Bright
Searching for John Joseph Mathews
He showed his anger in fantastic play of lightning, and thunder that crashed and rolled among the hills; in the wind
Richard Higgs
Heaven Just Got Funkier
When you witness God-given musical gifts, those moments are forever frozen in your memory. On Monday, August 19, Duke
J. Kavin Ross
The Making of Longhair Music
During the many decades of research for Longhair Music: The Songs & Sessions of Leon Russell, one of my more
Steve Todoroff
ORIGINAL OKIE: Erin O’Dowd
Erin O'Dowd is a singer-songwriter from Tulsa who takes her inspiration from nature, history and everyday life. She
This Land
Snakes on a Plain
I stood shaking in the center of a wooden 9-by-12-foot pit, surrounded on all sides by about 250 western diamondback
Holly Wall
What Happened, Man?
In reading over this gorgeous jumble of images and impressions, I can only wonder at how accurately they reflect the
John Wooley
The Burden of Being Tate
see brady see brady now a ghost of tulsa’s flitting past wandering the old streets without aim ambition or
Walt Kosty
Letter to New York City: On Bohemian Life in the Sooner State
My wife, Amy, a recent graduate from Yale’s painting program, and I, a writer reeling from an unhappy stint as an
James McGirk
Pop Life
Harold Stevenson is a tiny 84-year-old man wearing a knit shirt with a frayed collar. He lives in a log cabin nestled
Steve Sherman
Original Okie: Harold Stevenson
If the pop world had a Walk of Fame, Harold Stevenson would hang a four-story painting over his star. He is known as
This Land
Nevertheless and Notwithstanding
In the United States Capitol Building’s National Statuary Hall, two statues represent each state. They honor
Grace-Yvette Gemmell
Borrowed Notes
In 1939, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath became a best-seller and turned the nation’s attention to the plight
Cortney Stone
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
Bionic Ankles, Jay Martin, and the Myth of Expertise
Jay Martin had no experts. As a designer of prosthetic limbs, he received a research grant for $300,000 in 2002 and
David Burkus
Weird Al-Chemy
“You don’t know what life before Al was like,” said my longtime co-worker Kevin “Okie” Okey. He’s delivered
Mitch Gilliam
Vicki Roberts
Vicki Roberts is proprietress of Black Mesa Bed & Breakfast, a 1910 native rock ranch house on a working cattle
Jeremy Charles
Whose Names are Unknown
Julia was standing in the yard shading her eyes with her hand, looking at the northern sky. The April sun was
Sanora Babb
Five Summers and John Steinbeck
"We are lonesome animals. We spend all life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story
Brian Ted Jones
Where the Elephants Roam
Susie, who was weed-eating along the sanctuary fence line, recognized Barbara Miller Byrd’s SUV when Byrd and her
Richard Higgs
Those Who Know
Somebody has to drive Mike Samara to work every night, and Suell Turner figures it might as well be him. “If you
This Land
Jon Mooneyham
Jon Mooneyham is an Antlers graduate, a non-practicing Pastafarian, the un-un-cola. A former member of The Flaming
Natasha Ball
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
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
A Stiller Ground
I walked in graveyards, gathering trash and fallen branches. I pulled weeds that obscured the names on old headstones
Gordon Grice
Shoes Without Laces
Eldon Dykes’ father arrived on Sunday nonstop Greyhound bus from Oklahoma for a visit Next morning after
Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel
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
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
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
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
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
And Satan Came Also
A greater threat to a peaceful, civilized community than the outlaw bands that terrorized, plundered, and killed was
Albert McRill
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
Robert Hedgecoke
R.L. Hedgecoke, a Cherokee/Scots-Irish/Metis-Canadian/English World War II veteran, lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He grew
Shane Brown