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
Filter / Sort
Kurt Vonnegut’s Oklahoma Eden
On a warm day in December, Woolaroc ranch hands are rounding up the bison for the annual inspection and culling. A
Ginger Strand
Kristen Vails
Kristen Vails is the executive director of the Plaza District in Oklahoma City, a burgeoning artists' community and
Nathan Poppe
Kris and Nicole Crawford
Kris and Nicole Crawford stand apart. They waited to kiss one another until they were standing at the altar. Instead
Rebekah Greiman
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
Killing Teenagers: In Class with Jonathan Safran Foer
“A friend once told me ‘writing is like pulling teeth...’” Jonathan Safran Foer is about to deliver a worn
Joshua Kline
Kevi Luper
Last season, Oral Roberts University basketball star Kevi Luper became the first player in NCAA Division 1 history to
Shane Bevel
Kenneth Renberg
In 1935, at age 14, Gunther Renberg emigrated from Germany, changed his name to Kenneth, and settled in Enid, Oklahoma,
Jeremy Charles
Ken & Shelley Umezawa
Shelley assumed the lump seen in the mirror was nothing more than a cyst and was shocked when the doctor told her
Rebekah Greiman
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
Katie Rain Hill
Katie Rain Hill is a commitment-phobe. She’s recently finished a degree in anthropology and sociology with a minor
This Land
Katia Anaya
Katia Anaya is part of the fifth-generation of her family’s business, Pancho Anaya Mexican Bakery, which began in
Melissa Lukenbaugh
Karma, Oklahoma
As I puzzled over the position of Karma, a bony waitress at a roadside café swept up all my change and explained how
Caleb Puckett
Karl Siewert
Karl Siewert always wanted to be a librarian, just like his mother. He’s a compulsive researcher who considers every
This Land
Karen Dalton
Even before she rose from the dead, Karen Dalton always sounded like a ghost. Her voice was an unearthly coo, a
Thomas Conner
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
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
Just as I Was: Confessions of a Fallen Southern Baptist
I sprang from a deep well of Southern Baptist blood—crimson, of course. One of my most frightful childhood memories
Sheilah Bright
June Issue Pulsing with Dissent and Hysterics
The June 2011 issue of This Land is indeed a machine that demands accountability. But it also delivers some of the most
This Land
Jubilee
I made 56 grilled cheese sandwiches the other day at Food and Shelter For Friends (FSFF). This is where I’ve decided
Erin Fore
Joy Harjo
The wandering poet, writer, and musician Joy Harjo returned home three years ago. She left Oklahoma for an Indian
Melissa Lukenbaugh
Joseph Merz (1968-2011)
“His presence was big,” Blakely said. “I mean, he was a pretty big guy himself, over six foot and with his big
Shawna Lewis
Jon Mooneyham
Jon Mooneyham is an Antlers graduate, a non-practicing Pastafarian, the un-un-cola. A former member of The Flaming
Natasha Ball
Johnny Rotten
Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols, performing in Tulsa. The Cain's Ballroom is the only venue graced by the
Tom Dutton
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
John Sands (1936-2011)
John Sands got married in Ireland, got a job in Canada, then changed careers in Seattle before making it to Tulsa to
Shawna Lewis
John Chick
John Chick is widely remembered by most Tulsans as the host of the children’s shows Cartoon Zoo and Mr. Zing and
Clara Nipper
John Brainard
John Brainard is an artist from Tulsa, Oklahoma who is known for his large, multimedia collage-paintings. He now lives
Claire Edwards
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
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
Job Machine
as wages stagnate up store square feet sore from eight days a weak excuse for profit margins measure of time out
Melody Charles
Jim and Nancy Edwards
“It’s better to avoid talking about how we met,” Jim said with a laugh. He tiptoed around the specifics of their
Rebekah Greiman
Jim and Linda
The question, “Have you always been this way?” causes Jim Elmore to grin. “What, nomadic?” he asks. “My
Rebekah Greiman
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
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
Jennifer Mansell (1962-2011)
They met as softball rivals but wouldn’t compete for long. “We weren’t on the same team,” Toni Hill
Shawna Lewis
Jeff & Amber Whitlatch
Amber Whitlatch puffed at her purple-red bangs, introducing herself and her husband Jeff from my porch. After the
Rebekah Greiman
Jean Davis (1932-2011)
“I thought she was the most exotic woman in the world,” Henson remembers. “She was certainly the most exotic
Shawna Lewis
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
Jared Toay Lifts This Land
Reading This Land is Jared Toay, who will be competing for the 2010 Natural Body Building Contest at Thoreau on June
This Land
Jamin & Gina Brasongré
“I was casting for a production and I was hired to find people to dance for a musical about the Tulsa Race Riots,”
Rebekah Greiman
Jaimie Gua Checks Out This Land
An old Indian chief peeks over Jaimie Gua's shoulder as she browses the pages of This
This Land
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
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
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
It Snowed in Oklahoma and We Have Photos
We're not sure if you've been watching the weather reports, but a few inches of snow recently dusted Tulsa and the
This Land
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
Issue Five Arrives Friday!
It's a TV-themed keeper! This Land, Vol 2, Issue 1 (aka Issue 5), arrives in Tulsa this Friday--and the only way to
This Land
Issue 6 Arrives This Weekend
UPDATE: Due to the weather (see this post), our pub date has been pushed back until after the 7th. Reader, you are
This Land
Isolation Is the Gift
This story was made possible in part by our friends at City of Guthrie. Thank you, City of Guthrie, for supporting
Mitch Gilliam
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
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
Is Larry Clark Obscene?
On July 3, 2003, a film critic stood before a crowd of around 500 crammed into a community building in Sydney,
Denver Nicks
Irons in the Fire
Minus the invention of the steel shaft in the 1930s, golf clubs had barely changed in decades. Irons were forged of
Beau Adams
Irena Kendrick
Irena Kendrick was born February 5, 1976, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She immigrated to Oklahoma, by way of Germany, as
Shane Brown
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
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
Inside the ‘Guide’
I’d heard murmurs of Uptown News for years. I wasn’t familiar with the publication, but folks would ask me about
Holly Wall
In Transit
My alarm was set for 7:00 am, and when I woke up, it felt like Christmas morning. My boyfriend’s mom, Denise,
Katie Rain Hill
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
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
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
In the Company of Gin
Barnaby Conrad III pointed out the home of the Mai Tai, its entrance obscured by palm fronds and banana
This Land
In My Tribe
A childhood summer afternoon is thrown into relief. I’m 10 years old. My big sister Kat and I are spending the day
Jezy J. Gray
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
Impressions of The Race Riot Suite
Composed by Chris Combs for the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Horn Quintet Chris Combs wondered if there was
Denis McGilvray
Imagine There’s No Cowboy
Indians on horseback have been stampeding across the television screen all afternoon. It’s the mid-1960s, so maybe
LeAnne Howe
Ike’s Wounded Knee
Throughout history, American army generals have faced bitter defeats before achieving their greatest military triumphs.
Joe Medina
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
I’m Doing a Thing
Eric Fransen is a carpenter who has a woodworking studio in downtown Tulsa. At one point in his past, he was pursuing a
This Land
I.M. Pei’s Plan for OKC
In 1964, the renowned architect I.M. Pei created a 10x12 ft. model showing how downtown Oklahoma City might look in
Michael Mason
I Have Seen Things
“I have seen dust rise until it would look like a rain cloud but would be nothing but the dust from wild horses
This Land
Hunting for a Mayor
I have been reading a good deal in the news recently about your problems with our Mayor. The litany of charges you have
Beau Adams
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
How to Arrest the Increase of Homicides in America
It must be conceded that we are in a peculiar condition in this nation today—in such a condition that, in my
Liam Carey
Housing
House of all day; house on the sea, of doors no one knew how to enter; house of small country and green, green land;
Karen Alayna Thimell
House in the Hill
Here it comes, I’d tell myself. I’d know it was almost time by the way my parents’ car would begin to wind along
Natasha Ball
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
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
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
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
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
Home Territory
We headed south from McAlester to the Texas border in early morning. The day was blazing hot, humid, no wind. Typical
Rilla Askew
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
Holy Frack
It started with just a few tremors. Then a few more. Then it seemed like a swarm, each one following thick and fast on
Ginger Strand
Holy Crap
Shit happens every day. At least, it should. When it doesn’t, there’s a Seventh-Day Adventist in southeastern
Sheilah Bright
Highs and Lows in Brady Heights
Miss Anne lifts a rainbow-colored scarf from the small cage sitting on the picnic table in her backyard. Angry black
Michael Berglund
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
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
Hello, My Name Is…
“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.” —Diogenes Laertius, 3rd Century Greek
Aaron Cord Siemers
Hell on Wheels
Stephen Lassiter is not a hipster. He is an Integrity Analyst for Magellan Midstream Partners in Tulsa and he rides
Beau Adams
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
Heaven Is a Place for Sale
Roberts Liardon loves talking about the sofa he sat on in Heaven. “It was alive,” he tells the congregation at
Sarah Morice Brubaker
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
Headlining the Hippodrome
The architect, like a divine creator surveying six days of work, righteously declared that the boxy, beige, concrete
Holly Wall
He’s Presentable Now
The following is an excerpt from Me Head: George is a Summer, so there were some major no-no’s right off the bat.
Taylor Russet
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
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
Harold Dorsey
When I first encountered Harold Dorsey, he wasn't shining shoes at all. He was sitting high up in the chair usually
Michael Cooper
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