Editor’s Letter – 4/4/18

“All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. And then there are mere trickles … All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters.” ― Jean Rhys

When I was in graduate school studying creative writing, mentors and friends talked often about being good literary citizens. What that meant to me then was being an active participant in the world of literature—feeding the lake by writing, yes, but also by supporting other writers, volunteering at literary events, hosting accessible readings, facilitating collaborations with poets and writers so their work would be seen, sharing writers’ works on social media, etc. 

Now it means more to me. Maybe the change has come because I’m older (and wiser, duh) or because the Trump era changed the way I see much of the world. I see good literary citizenship, now, as an insistence upon the idea that writing is not frivolous but necessary. Using our voices is one of the most important—resistant, defiant, rebellious, revolutionary—acts there is. And the benefits reading offers can spill over into your daily life: Reading can make you a better, more engaged citizen, period. It gives access to the stories of those we might not otherwise hear. It teaches empathy. The Oklahoma officials rooting for death by gas chamber in Barry Friedman’s piece would do well to read “The Execution of Tropmann” by Ivan Turgenev.

As I write this letter, thousands of teachers, administrators, parents, children, students, and supporters are at the Oklahoma State Capitol asking our legislature to properly fund education. They need sustainable funding, more teachers, more classroom supplies, more books. (On Monday, pbs.org published a story about teachers across Oklahoma posting photos of crumbling, outdated textbooks.)

Tulsa has long been a literary town—from poet Ron Padgett to novelist S.E. Hinton to the ever-popular Booksmart Tulsa events so many of us enjoy today. This year, our town (including those teachers at the walkout today) is increasing its part in feeding the lake. Two 2018 Tulsa literary developments include TTV’s first-ever flash fiction contest, held in partnership with TU’s Nimrod International Journal, and the debut of Tulsa LitFest. Read our contest winners’ and finalists’ stories here. For interviews, articles, and a full guide to Tulsa LitFest, click here.

Also in this issue, Mary Noble brings us a preview of Hip Hop 918—another first. Guthrie Green has never before hosted a hip-hop show of this scale, and the one they’ve styled for April 7 should be an old-school good time. Local art collective INKSLINGERS celebrate their one-year anniversary. And Heller Theatre Company closes out another season—this time with an evening of three one-act plays by local playwrights.