Scholars to Examine Dust Bowl Literature
In Upcoming Library Book Discussion Series
The 1930s in Oklahoma—the center of one of the greatest ecological and economic disasters in U.S. history—were marked by dust storms in the west, mass migration from all parts of the state to the “promised land” of California, and attempts by contemporary writers to make sense of the upheaval surrounding them.
An upcoming reading and discussion series at McAlester Public Library will feature three contemporaneous works from the Dust Bowl years, a National Book Award-winning history, and a Newbery Award-winning novel told in free verse. Each work will be explained by an Oklahoma scholar, prior to group discussions.
“The Worst Hard Time Revisited: Oklahoma in the Dust Bowl Years,” part of the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” (LTAIO) program of the Oklahoma Humanities Council (OHC), begins in March and is open to the public. Books, services and other materials are provided by LTAIO, a project of the OHC, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
All programs are held in the library’s Whiteacre Room on Thursdays beginning at 6 p.m. Brochures and other materials are available at the library’s front desk, explaining the program and how to participate.
“Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl has long been a subject of varied responses from native Oklahomans,” said project director Kathy McGilberry, Assistant Librarian. “With this series, we will consider the viewpoints of historians, Panhandle residents at the heart of the devastation, and award-winning writers. We will also view films that deal with Depression-era themes.”
The schedule of films and presentations includes:
March 8—A hard-to-find documentary from director Philippe Mora using newsreels and old movie clips to create the mood of the times;
March 15—Dr. Bill Corbett of Northeastern State University presents Pulitzer Prize winner Timothy Egan’s 2005 history of Oklahomans who stayed put, in “The Worst Hard Time;”
March 22—Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal star in a comedic tale of Depression-era grifters from director Peter Bogdanovich;
March 29—Dr. Carol Humphrey of Oklahoma Baptist University presents “Letters from the Dust Bowl” by Caroline Henderson, whose missives from the heart of the Dust Bowl appeared in Atlantic Monthly;
April 5—Henry Fonda stars in his iconic role as Tom Joad in this classic adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel; April 12—Dr. Lewis Parkhill, professor emeritus at East Central University, presents “Now in November” a 1935 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Josephine Winslow Johnson;
April 19—Warren Beaty and Faye Dunaway star as a famous ill-fated outlaw couple in this transformative 1970s film;
April 26—Dr. Trisha Yarbrough of ECU presents “Whose Names Are Unknown” a novel by Oklahoman Sanora Babb that went up against Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” in 1939, and lost;
May 3—John Cusack and Meredith Salenger star in an inspirational adventure tale about a young girl searching for a father who went west to find work; and May 10—Dr. Kenneth Hada of ECU presents Newbery winner “Out of the Dust” a free verse novel by Karen Hesse.
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