The Dirt Room
She couldn’t resist the photographs online, or the sellers’ description: Adorable Cape Cod with walk-out
Aimee Parkison
Filter / Sort
Signs of Forgotten Times
In a small meeting room in a Unitarian Universalist church a few miles north of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, people of
Adrian Margaret Brune
Marcello Angelini
How long does it take to dance from Italy to Oklahoma? For Marcello Angelini, almost 35 years. He began studying
Brooks Nickell
The Red Shift
North of the Red River, in the “Land of the Red Man,” on the iron-rich red soil and matching dust, with red
Larry Guthrie
Sam Gillaspy
Sam Gillaspy has lived in Arcadia, Oklahoma, for 88 years. He's devoted the last eight of those to giving tours at the
Brooks Nickell
This Is My Beloved Son
The fall of the first family of televangelism came swiftly. Two Oral Roberts Ministries employees crouched on a desk
Kiera Feldman
The Cathedral Cruiser
When GM decommissioned the Parade of Progress, 12 Futurliners went up for sale. We know that a couple of them found
This Land
An Interview with Ralph Ellison
Ellison was not known for giving interviews, but in 1966 he sat down at his home in New York City with Robert Hughes.
This Land
Capitol Coercion
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent indictment by a grand jury in Travis County, Texas, might seem familiar to the
Brian Ted Jones
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
Suspicious Mind
The November race for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District, which spills out of the Panhandle and fills the western
Matt Lardner
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
Allison Hedge Coke
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke lives with her mustangs, dogs, and 92-year-old father in an old rock house just south of
Shane Brown
Torment Relieved in Song
On October 25, 1914, banker John Allyn Smith and schoolteacher Martha Little welcomed their first of two sons, John
Cheryl Pallant
On the Fly
On a cool March evening, we set out a sandwich board that read “SHORT ORDER POEMS 1 FOR $5 FRESHLY TYPED &
Timothy Bradford & Chad Reynolds
Wearing the Wrong Colors
He got started quick. He found me out, honed in, and covered me at the bar. The clash was long awaited. I went
Drew Tully
Lafferty Lost and Found
They convened in a meeting room in the back of an old Borden’s Cafeteria. A bald man with a soft paunch, looking
Natasha Ball
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
Two Poems by Grant Matthew Jenkins
Marks Along the river valley who hears the cry of the raptors? Will you avail yourself of the talents at your
Grant Matthew Jenkins
Joy Harjo
The wandering poet, writer, and musician Joy Harjo returned home three years ago. She left Oklahoma for an Indian
Melissa Lukenbaugh
The Homestead
The cruiser cab hummed all around WilDer, nearly electric with the energy of corralled students on holiday. Mal, a live
Paige Duke
For Rachel, Who Is Not Lost
A seagull on the moon is not lost, She is a student of lunar soils. A cookie in a salad is not lost, It is
Rob Roensch
Foul Weather
Some things you can’t figure out. Not even with a whole heap of scratch paper and a ribbon of data from a chattering
Daniel H. Wilson
Ryan LaCroix
Ryan LaCroix is the operations manager at KOSU Radio and co-hosts the weekly radio program The Oklahoma Rock Show. He
Nathan Poppe
Love Smells of a Man Named Floyd
It is difficult to offer up our hearts like raw chicken on a hibachi grill often the chefs are not
Jennifer E. Hudgens
Memoirs of a Pioneer Teacher
I was born February 1, 1870, on a farm near Centropolis in Franklin County, Kansas. We moved to Ottawa when I was three
Harriet Patrick Gilstrap
Beauty, Purpose, and Preservation
Kinky hair is usually defined by 4a-4c hair type and is tightly coiled with a zig zag
James McGirk
An Oil Town’s Golden Idol
When the Golden Driller was installed for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition, Tulsa was “The Oil Capital of
Tony Beaulieu
The Indian of Their Dreams
If they hadn’t been square dancing beneath it, I might have ignored it. But there they were, the squares of the
This Land
CJ Wells
If you ask CJ Wells what brought him to Tulsa, he'll say, “An ‘87 Toyota pick-up truck." He'd been throwing mud at
This Land
Father George Eber
Father George Eber, an Okie since the '80s, is originally from Buffalo, New York. After three years as an infantry
Melissa Lukenbaugh
Religion of Silence
A curving road led me from the expressway into a neighborhood where American flags adorned brown, brick houses and
Molly Evans
When Kansas Was Ahead of its Time
With the celebration, remembrance, and commentary that has come with 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act this
Shawna Bethell
Making the Case for Martyrdom
Stanley Rother was an unlikely martyr. He was born in a small farmhouse outside Okarche, a small town in western
Mason Beecroft
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
The Disappearance of Ford Beckman
Editor's note: On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, Ford Beckman, the subject of this story, died at his home in Tulsa. He
Michael Mason
A Pentecost of Bicycles
The attraction between a boy and his bike, as William Maxwell writes about the attraction between boys and dogs, can be
David McGlynn
Letter from Ferguson
By sundown Monday evening, November 24, the scene in front of the Ferguson Police Department was nothing short of
Derek Dyson
Irena Kendrick
Irena Kendrick was born February 5, 1976, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She immigrated to Oklahoma, by way of Germany, as
Shane Brown
The French Horn and the Fire Escape
(Written while listening to the Andrew Hill Quintet) The French horn strays, then joins with upside-down notes, the
Bill Turley
Bean There, Done That
A Transportation Security Administration officer we’ll call Pat told me very politely, even gently: “Sir, you’re
This Land
Pushing the Sky
James “Robbie” Risner started life in rural Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, in the 1920s. His destitute family left the
Steve Gerkin
Oklahomans in the Spanish-American War
Many of us retain a vivid memory of the stirring days from the sinking of the battleship Maine, February 15, to the
John Alley
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
Dowsing for Cartoonists
The Dick Tracy Headquarters occupies a small corner of the Pawnee County Historical Museum, and the exhibit looks as
Jonathan Gaboury
A Life Illustrated
I cracked the book’s spine and turned its surprisingly crisp pages, inhaling the damp attic smell that wafted up to
Molly Evans
We Extend our Condolences
On February 27, 2014, 18-year-old William Rush entered Judge Tom Gillert’s Tulsa County courtroom. He was in
Brian Ted Jones
The Murder on Turkey Creek
In November 1876, two men met in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, and discussed their desires to cross the Indian Territory into
Martha Buntin
Lee Lyles
Lee Lyles of Sulphur, Oklahoma, forged a love for heavy metal as a kid and blazed a farrier career that earned him an
Sheilah Bright
Fast Forward
As we move yet one more step towards dust Desire fades and jealousy and
Warren Brown
Tongues of Fire in Kansas
Pentecostalism, a branch of Christianity that grew out of Protestantism in the early 20th century, has 280 million
Mike Mariani
Milking It
My mother pulled her flame-orange Pinto into the cratered lot at the entrance to our neighborhood and silently handed
Jennifer Luitwieler
Saucers over Oklahoma
Saturday morning, July 31, 1965, at 1:05 a.m., Officer Lewis Sikes of the Wynnewood Police Department reported sighting
David A. Farris
The Day Disaster Struck
Watch any television newscast, read any newspaper, and you’ll know that humans are fascinated with catastrophe.
Connie Cronley
Wilber Glasby
Wilber Glasby knows some folks think he’s a hoarder, but he sees cash value in his eight-acre junk-strewn kingdom in
Sheilah Bright
Much Love Lost
February is the month of true love; that’s why it’s the shortest month of the year. Valentine’s Day has been a
Connie Cronley
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
Queer as Folk
& then gay marriage was legal in Oklahoma & it was renamed “Oklahomo” & cowboys went broke
Nick Weaver
You Are Going to Be a Good Man
The moon has been off my left shoulder for thirty-seven years and I’ve never known a blue this bad, this purple. Lots
George McCormick
Renegade Golf
Cheyenne Golf Course, in Cheyenne, Oklahoma, is more reminiscent of Tom Joad than Tom Watson. It consists of nine
Tyler Palmateer
Alpha and Omega
I don’t remember life before fishing, and that’s fine with me, from what I’ve been told of it. Much of my infancy
Grant McClintock
Grant McClintock
In this special Original Okie double feature, we present two portraits of Grant McClintock: one snapped in 1975 by
This Land
Living Room Kitchen
I am missing two fingerprints on my right hand. The neat spiral of lines on my ring and middle fingers suddenly flatten
Sasha Martin
The Essence of Forever
I moved off campus my junior year at Long Island University into a second-floor room of a home in the cheerful village
Cheryl Pallant
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
Anchovies
we’ve come all the way from Oklahoma for locals
Victoria McArtor
Bombed-Out Boise City
It was about half past midnight on July 5, 1943. The heat of the day had given way to the usual cooling that occurs
David Dary
Ensigns and Sensei
On April 5, 1945, Oklahoma A&M President Henry Bennett received a telegram from U.S. Senator Elmer
R.E. Graalman Jr.
Mongolians “R” Us
For me there will never be another travel adventure like Japan. I was one of four guest speakers at the International
LeAnne Howe
Night Hoops
With tar still sludging our fingers from roofing jobs worked through the heat of day, with scratches down our
Benjamin Myers
A Creek Woman Moves to Northern New York
*** At the market they never have what I need: sofke corn, dried pea hulls, canuche balls wrapped in
Stacy Pratt
Eulogy for Ireland
*** Me, Shrouded in green, white, and orange I wake up tossing up electric blankets in my single-bed
Declan Kiely
A Six-Gun and a Song
Woody Guthrie and Pretty Boy Floyd never met, but that didn’t keep Oklahoma’s favorite balladeer and bank robber
Dale Ingram
Steak, Eggs, and a Submachine Gun
“You want me to tell you a story?” asked Marilee Macias, a native of Perry, Oklahoma, with kind eyes and perfectly
Ryan Daly
Karl Siewert
Karl Siewert always wanted to be a librarian, just like his mother. He’s a compulsive researcher who considers every
This Land
They Died For Their Sins
On August 10, 1966, just after 10 p.m., James French walked to the electric chair. Escorted in by two guards, French
Bob Gregory
The Unlikely Baroness
The young black girl poses in a common, patterned dress by an ordinary side chair. Her shadow creates a ghostly
Steve Gerkin
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
An Odder Science
I pulled up behind Dr. Randy Wymore’s pickup right as he pulled up in front of Sidney Presley’s house. “Sorry I
Mitch Gilliam
9:02 AM
I hurtled down Interstate 40, late for work, as usual, barely noticing the beautiful spring morning. I was frustrated
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon
The Opening of Oklahoma from the European Perspective
The following accounts from European newspapers give an idea of what the Europeans read about the opening of Oklahoma.
H.C. Peterson
Teenage Vengeance
“Wake up.” My sister was shaking my shoulder, and not gently. I opened one eye. According to the clock on my
Jennifer Latham
Tinkering with the Machinery of Death
On the morning of December 14, 1976, Charlie Brooks Jr. and Woody Loudres waited outside a liquor store on Rosedale
Mike Mariani
The Condemned Man’s Son
William Clifford Bryson III walked into the viewing room of Oklahoma’s execution chamber clutching his
RJ Young
Trail
Long after I left Tahlequah I dreamed of the place. Not just the town but the earth and waters that surround it. The
Rilla Askew
Malissa
1983 A week before, I bought my first maternity gear at the Goodwill, a brown empire-waist polyester top with
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
Selling ‘Tulsa’ to Tulsans
There’s Tulsa the city, and there’s Tulsa the movie. For a brief spell in the spring of 1949, when the movie
Charles Morrow
Onehorse, OK, pop. 1,000: Saaaaaaalute
Driving home tonight, I see Loretta Lynn on a casino billboard & take a left turn to
Benjamin Myers
The True Blues and the Tiger Eyes vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Tom Bouggous was a man who stood out in a crowd. He was an outspoken and powerfully built Indian who had lived in the
David A. Farris
A Meditation on Metaphors
If you go online and look up “bad metaphors and similes,” here are a few examples you’re likely to
Darren Ingram
Reminiscences of an Early Dental Practitioner in Western Oklahoma
It was a wide open range country, featured by boundless rolling hills carpeted by green grass and acres of many hued
Dr. F. C. Holmes
Sci-Fi’s Tough Guy
Descending by car into the flaccid Florida peninsula on I-95 can make a bull rider reach for a Valium. Cars, trucks,
Grant McClintock
Denise Bell
It was a road trip to the Taos Wool Festival that inspired Tulsa native Denise Bell to hand-dye her own yarn. That was
Chris Dykes
Chicken Fat
Everybody at Alice Robertson Junior High in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was wondering why we, of all the students in the entire
Janis Cramer
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
Scenes from Muslim Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol
Muslims in Oklahoma, like other minority communities in the state, haven’t always felt secure in their homes and
Randy R Potts
Love Beyond Belief
When you have a church that is bound together by a promise rather than a belief system, you free people to be honest
Reverend Dr. Marlin Lavanhar
An Astrological Look at Oklahoma
Most people know about the Sun Sign column in the newspaper, but did you know that astrologers do much more? We
Lynn Bootes
Video Killed the Pulpit Star
A young guy wearing a cobalt blue hoodie and shiny leather jacket has just robbed a woman’s purse. Rummaging through
Mike Mariani
New Documentary Details Japan’s Country Music Culture
This Land Films is pleased to announce a new partnership with director James Payne and producer Matt Leach to produce
This Land