On this edition of ST, we welcome the award-winning Oklahoma writer Rilla Askew back to our show. Her new book, just out, is her first-ever nonfiction volume; it's a collection of nine linked essays entitled "Most American: Notes from a Wounded Place." In this timely and reflective work, she argues that the State of Oklahoma -- whether we are talking about police violence, gun culture, race relations, secret history, religious fervor, spellbinding landscapes, or brutal weather -- is actually a "microcosm" of the United States. From the Trail of Tears to the Tulsa Race Riot to the Murrah Federal Building bombing, Oklahoma quite fully reveals the wounds -- of division, of violence, of prejudice, and so on -- that are at the very heart of this nation. Askew discusses this far-reaching book with us today on our program. And please note that she will be discussing it further at a free-to-the-public event on Monday night, the 10th, at the TCCL's Central Library (at 5th and Denver). That event, presented by Book Smart Tulsa, begins at 7pm.
"Most American" -- The Popular Oklahoma Author Rilla Askew Offers a New Collection of Essays
