July 1, 2012

We’re celebrating the annual Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival in Okemah. Woody would have been 100 this year, so we’re delving deeper into the mythos surrounding our favorite rambler. IMAGINARY OKLAHOMA: In Adam Langer’s “Phaedra,” a traveling man stumbles across the celebration of Woody Guthrie’s birthday–and possible romance. LETTER FROM SHANGHAI: An unreciprocated high school crush propelled Aric S. Queen into a successful career as a DJ. THE BOY AND THE BAND: Tamara Logsdon Hawkinson interviews Tulsa musician Jimmy “Junior” Markham about the late, legendary Levon Helm. DRAWING THE LINE: For Woody Guthrie, nearly every medium fit his message, including cartoons and illustrations. By James Vance. RAMBLIN’ MAN: Sarah Graalman draws the links between Woody and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. WOODY MOOMAT: Trace the influences of and on Guthrie using a powerful new app called Moomat. THE HILLS HAVE EYES: Steve Gerkin writes about Standpipe Hill, which has seen its fair share of wrongdoings. THE MYTH OF SAINT WOODY: Matthew Carney goes inside a new book about Guthrie’s used and abused anthem, “This Land is Your Land.” BEARDEN UNBOUND: Robert Dumont chronicles the up-and-down, back-and-forth life of Tulsa poet David Bearden. POETRY: David Bearden finds a voice beyond the “Tulsa School” in his poem “The Buckhorn Inn.” 100 AND COUNTING: Matt Leach and Sterlin Harjo  capture scenes from the Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert held last March at the Brady Theater in Tulsa. THE WILLS CONNECTION: Jim Downing remembers his mother’s first husband, Bob Wills. (She was his third.) BEYOND THE ARCHIVES: Thomas Conner goes deep on the wealth of material Guthrie produced in his career. DONE THAT: Oklahoma City “Do What?” correspondent Grace Gordon reports in on SoonerCon–an Oklahoma City-based convention dedicated to all things fandom. ORIGINAL OKIE: Shane Bevel photographs folklorist, writer, musician and Woody Guthrie historian Dr. Guy Logsdon.