Episode 12: Julie Pearson Little Thunder - A Southern Fantasia
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, which was recorded remotely in November 2020, we meet playwright and Native theater scholar, Dr. Julie Pearson Little Thunder, and take a listen to selections from her latest play, “A Southern Fantasia.” The reading features Elizabeth Randall as Arifiday, Jana Rhoads (Kiowa/Caddo) as Laune, Vanessa Adams Harris (Mvskoke Creek) as Okcate, April Wind (Mvskoke Creek/Cherokee) as Auntie, and Harold Blalock (Eastern Shawnee/Peoria/Cherokee) as Fletcher. Dr. Julie Pearson Little Thunder has a theater degree from the University of Kansas and worked as a co-founder, director and...
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Episode 11; Dear Tulsa - Rilla Askew
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, Rilla Askew, author of four novels, a book of stories, and a collection of creative nonfiction, reads her essay “Dear Tulsa,” which first appeared in the literary journal AGNI. She talks to Emily and Lindsey about writing “Dear Tulsa,” an essay that brings together a traumatic moment from Rilla’s early twenties and the story of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She also shares her thoughts on writing about place and explains what has kept her going creatively throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Song Credits: Dirt Rhodes by Kevin MacLeod Link:...
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Episode 10: Karl Jones - Silver Star
Dear Oklahoma
In this live episode, reads from his memoir-in-progress at Curiosity Fest, a daylong festival celebrating literature, history, philosophy, and ethics sponsored by in Oklahoma City. Karl, who grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, talks about his career as a writer, children’s literature editor at Penguin Random House, performer, and visual artist. While Karl has authored and edited many books for children, his venture into writing a memoir for adults is a new experience. The excerpts he shares with Emily and Lindsey from his memoir-in-progress reflect on moments...
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Episode 9: Teresa Miller - Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame
Dear Oklahoma
In this live episode, we kick off the second season of Dear Oklahoma and celebrate Teresa Miller’s induction into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. This induction ceremony features a conversation with Rilla Askew and Teresa Miller. Special guest P.C. Cast, who is a number one New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, introduces Rilla and Teresa and explains why Teresa has been instrumental to her successful writing career. Teresa Miller is the author of Remnants of Glory, Family Correspondence, and Means of Transit: A Slightly Embellished Memoir. She contributed an essay honoring her...
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Episode 8: John Andrews - A Reason to Stay
Dear Oklahoma
In the final episode of Dear Oklahoma, Season 1, poet John Andrews, author of Colin Is Changing His Name () and a 2018 Oklahoma Book Award finalist, reads a poem he created for our podcast and tells us the reason he stays in Oklahoma. John, who grew up in Sheridan, Arkansas, chats with Lindsey and Emily about his experiences coming of age as a gay man in the south, explains why a text message breakup makes excellent material for poems, and shares how he reconnected with the man who would become his husband after moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma.
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Episode 7: Chris Murphy - Annual Report of the Seasons
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, Chris Murphy, whose fiction has appeared in Gulf Coast, This Land Press, The Jellyfish Review, decomP, The Tulsa Voice, among other publications, shares a piece called, “An Annual Report of the Seasons,” that is both moving and timely. Chris, a native of the Boston area, gives Lindsey and Emily his impressions of the Oklahoma weather, explains why he loves firefly season in Tahlequah, and mentions that he likes writing late at night with the window open (weather permitting, of course).
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Dinah Cox - The Old-Fashioned Way
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, we’ll hear Dinah Cox, author of the award-winning short fiction collection Remarkable (BOA editions), read a story about Ross and Harriet, who find love, sort of, in “The Old-Fashioned Way.” Dinah gives Lindsey and Emily her take on writing Oklahoma stories, creating characters with an ‘Oklahoma neighbor voice,’ and putting small town strife to good use in her fiction.
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Episode 5: Hannibal Johnson - What If
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, author Hannibal Johnson shares a poem and an essay that addresses what’s necessary to improve Oklahoma’s relationship with diversity and inclusion. Hannibal talks to Lindsey and Emily about our shared humanity, the power of asking “what if,” and he emphasizes the importance of making people feel valued and respected.
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Episode 4: Clem Heard - Know You
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, poet Clem Heard, a 2018 Tulsa Artist Fellow for the Literary Arts, reads a piece he created especially for our podcast. Clem, a New Orleans native, talks to Lindsey and Emily about food and poetry, finding balance in one’s writing life, and the advice he has for those who are getting to know Oklahoma.
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Episode 3: Kate Strum - Spiritual Affliction
Dear Oklahoma
In this episode, Kate Strum reads her Pushcart Prize-nominated essay, “Spiritual Affliction: A Thank You Note to Oklahoma.” Lindsey and Emily talk to Kate about the meaning of home, why the poetry of Simon Ortiz matters, and the occasional hazards of telling neighbors that you’re a writer.
info_outlineIn this episode, poet and actor Deborah J. Hunter reads two poems based on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that she wrote and performed in Tara Brooke Watkins’ play, “Tulsa 21: Black Wall Street.” Lindsey and Emily talk to Deborah about the use of the word “massacre” versus “riot” and discuss what it means to confront this violent, painful, and hidden moment of Oklahoma’s history through poetry.