What do you think about when you think about Oklahoma?
Imaginary Oklahoma is a new podcast from This Land Press, KOSU, and The Association for Independents in Radio that asks just that question to a group of America's best fiction writers.
The audio series is based on the book "Imaginary Oklahoma" that Paris Review says "manages to raise the stakes of the short-prose form." From Franz Kafka to Rodgers and Hammerstein, writers both foreign and domestic have been speculating about Oklahoma for more than a century, proving that Oklahoma is more than a place, it's an idea.
The podcast weaves together flash-fiction stories from the book with captivating sounds to offer a complex picture of the pan-shaped land with a simple, ghostly narrative.
Imaginary Oklahoma
Forty-six of today's most important and influential writers combine with artists to create a fictional take on the 46th state. From Franz Kafka to Rodgers and Hammerstein, writers both foreign and domestic have been speculating about Oklahoma for more than a century.
Authors featured in the book include Steve Almond, Ben Greenman, Jonathon Lethem, Matt Bondurant, Edith Pearlman, Deborah Willis, Craig Morgan Teicher, Tupelo Hassman, Wayne Koestenbaum, Alan Heathcock, Jess Row, Lori Ostlund, Jack Pendarvis, Brian Frazer, Aimee Bender, Padgett Powell, Carolyn Parkhurst, and more. Through a wide variety of voices, styles, and literary devices, these works prove that Oklahoma is much more than just a place—it's an idea.
"Imaginary Oklahoma is a complex, playful, and sincere love letter to the Panhandle State. Whether you're a resident or only passing through, once you've absorbed these luscious stories and gorgeous original art, Oklahoma will loom large in your mind and your heart. An exquisite, captivating collection."
—Davy Rothbart, author of My Heart Is an Idiot, creator of Found magazine, and contributor to Public Radio International's This American Life.