Oklahoma Center for the Book. 1996 Oklahoma Book Award Program.;

              A
Celebration
of Oklahoma
Books and Authors
March 9, 1996
Welcome
to the Seventh Annual
Oklahoma Book Awards
Ceremony
National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center
Oklahoma City
John Hope Franklin
recipient of the
1996 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
On January 2, 1915, in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, John Hope Franklin was born, the son of
Buck Colbert, an attorney and the first Black judge in Oklahoma district court; and Mollie
(Parker) Franklin. He attended Fisk University, and Harvard University, receiving a Ph.D.
in 1941.
Dr. Franklin is devoted to recovering the ancestral past of Afro-American history, and
to rescuing its own particular progenitors and predecessors from the obscurity that has so
often been their fate. He discovered the joy of the study of history more than 50 years ago
when he was a student at Fisk University in Nashville.
Dr. Franklin is the James B. Duke professor of history emeritus and for seven years was
professor of legal history at Duke University. He has taught at a number of institutions,
including Fisk University, North Carolina Central University, and Howard University. In
1956, he went to Brooklyn College as chairman of the department of history. In 1964, he
joined the faculty of the University of Chicago, serving as chairman of the department of
history from 1967 to 1970. He was the John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service
Professor from 1969 to 1982, when he became emeritus professor there.
Dr. Franklin has written a number of books, including The Emancipation Proclamation, The
Militant South, The Free Negro In North Carolina, Reconstruction After The Civil War, The Color
Line, and A Southern Odyssey: Travelers In The Antebellum North. His Jefferson Lecture in the
Humanities for 1976 was published under the title Racial Equality In America. His George
Washington Williams: A Biography, published in 1985, received the Clarence L. Holte Literary
Prize for that year. A collection of essays covering Franklin's teaching and writing career of
50 years was published early in 1990 entitled Race And History: Selected Essays, 1938-1988.
Perhaps his best known book, From Slavery To Freedom: A History Of Negro Americans, first
published in 1947, has sold more than 2 million copies and is translated to French, German,
Portuguese and Japanese.
In 1978, he was elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and in the same year was one of
eight Americans cited by Who's Who in America for significant contributions to society. He
has received honorary degrees from more then 105 colleges and universities. Last fall, Dr.
Franklin received the President's Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
It is perhaps unfair to call history Dr. Franklin's first love. That honor is reserved for his
wife, Aurelia, whom he met while they were both students at Fisk. She saw great things in
store for the tall studious young man who would become her husband, saying "there was
just something special about him." Mrs. Franklin is a retired librarian.
Dr. Franklin's primary hobby is raising orchids. He has a custom-built green house at his
home in Durham, North Carolina. More than 1,000 orchid plants are part of his collection.
1996 Oklahoma Book Awards
A Celebration of Oklahoma Books and Authors
Welcome .................................................................................................... GIenda Carlile
President, Oklahoma Center for the Book
Comments ........................................................................................... Robert L. Clark Jr.
Director, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Master of Ceremonies ........................................................................ Daniel Blanchard
Executive Director, American Institute of Discussion and
Past President, Oklahoma Center for the Book
Poetry Award ............................................................................ Presented by Kay Boies
Executive Director, Oklahoma Library Association
Children/Young Adult Award ....................................... Presented by Donna Woods
Director, Reading/Literacy, State Department of Education
Non-Fiction Award .......................................................... Presented by B. Byron Price
Executive Director, National Cowboy Hall of Fame
and Western Heritage Center
Design/Illustration Award .......................................... Presented by Jean Richardson
Painter and Print Maker
Fiction Award ..................................................................... Presented by Teresa Miller
Director, Center for Oklahoma Poets and Writers
University Center at Tulsa
Lifetime Achievement Award ..•....••. Presented by the Honorable Hannah Atkins,
Former Secretary of State
You're invited to an after-party!
Join us at Full Circle Books, 50 Penn Place,
immediately following tonight's ceremony.
Oklahoma Center for the Book
Officel'S and Board of Diredol'S
Glenda Carlile, Oklahoma City, is president. Ms. Carlile, an author, portrays Oklahoma
Territorial women from her books Buckskin, Calico, and Lace and Petticoats, Politics
and Pirouettes for schools, libraries, and other civic groups. She also serves on the board
of the Oklahoma County Historical Society, and is active in the Territorial Tellers group.
Laurie Sundborg, Tulsa, is vice-president. Ms. Sundborg is Adult Programming Coordi­nator
for the Tulsa City-County Library System.
Marilyn Vesely, Norman, is secretary. Ms. Vesely is former Public Information Officer
for the Department of Libraries. She was instrumental in establishing the Oklahoma
Center for the Book.
William Young, Oklahoma City, is treasurer. Mr. Young is current Public Information
Officer for the Department of Libraries.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book is a non-profit, 501-c-3 organization serving as an
outreach program of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Oklahoma's Center,
begun in 1986, was the fourth state center formed. The mission of the Oklahoma Center
for the Book is to promote the past, current, and future work of Oklahoma authors; to
promote literary heritage of the state; and to encourage reading for pleasure by Oklaho­mans
of all ages.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book is governed by a volunteer board of directors
from across the state. They are listed below, except for officers named above.
Tracy Alford, Oklahoma City
Gale Bollinger, Oklahoma City
Diane Canavan, Shawnee
Freda Carpitcher, Edmond
David Clark, Norman
Robert L. Clark Jr., Oklahoma City
Liz Codding, Edmond
Aarone Corwin, Midwest City
Phil Dessauer, Tulsa
Lennie Draper, Norman
Sonja Fowler, Oklahoma City
Ann Hamilton, Edmond
Julie Hovis, Edmond
Ken Jackson, Tulsa
Anne Luthey, Tulsa
Teresa Miller, Tahlequah
Paulette Millichap, Tulsa
B. Byron Price, Oklahoma City
B.J. Williams, Oklahoma City
Gerry Willingham, Oklahoma City
1996 Oklahoma Book Award Finalists
POETRY/PLAySOUPT------------------------------------------
Boom Town by Diane Glancy
Ms. Glancy is Associate Professor of English at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She spent
many years in the Artist-in-Residence program in Oklahoma, and has many collections of poetry and
stories. Her first novel, Pushing the Bear, is about the 1838 Trail of Tears, and will be published by
Harcourt Brace and released later this year.
Circle of Light by Charles Levendosky
Mr. Levendosky has participated in Poetry-in-the-Schools programs in New York, New Jersey,
Georgia, and Wyoming. He served as Wyoming's Poet-in-Residence for ten years, and for eight years
as Poet Laureate. He received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1974. In 1994 his
columns won both the Baltimore Sun's H.L. Mencken Award and the Silver Gavel Award. He is
currently the editorial page editor of Wyoming's Casper Star-Tribune, for which he also writes a
weekly column.
A Paleontologist's Notebook by Susan Smith Nash
Ms. Nash edits and publishes poetry for Texture Press in Norman. Her essays, poems and fiction
have appeared in numerous publications, including Avec, Talisman, Central Park, Another Chicago
Magazine, and the Washington Review. She is included in the anthology of the Gertrude Stein Award
for Innovative Writing published by Sun & Moon Press. Nash lives in Norman.
The Trouble With Voices by Francine Leffler Ringold-Johnson
A devoted teacher, Fran has taught literature, creative writing and theater at the University of Tulsa,
in the Oklahoma State Arts in Education and Artistsin the Schools programs, at the Oklahoma School
of the Deaf, and at the Tulsa Center for the Physically Limited. She is the mother of four grown
children, and lives with her husband, poet Manly Johnson, in Tulsa.
A Gathering of Bones by Audrey Streetman
Audrey Streetman's first collection of poetry, The Train, was published in 1991, and she is currently
at work on her third book, Keeper of the Dream, which deals with transformation of the personality
through poetry and dreams. She lives in Oklahoma City and works as a commercial loan officer. She
has three daughters to whom this book is dedicated.
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT -------------------
The Pumpkin Man from Piney Creek by Darleen Bailey Beard
Darleenhas loved pumpkins for as long as she can remember. In autumn, whenever she' s not writing,
she's carving jack-o-Ianterns, toasting seeds, and baking pies and breads. Darleen has a degree in
professional writing and lives in Tuttle with her husband, Dan, and son, Spencer. The Pumpkin Man
from Piney Creek is her first book.
The Puppy Sister by S.E. Hinton
Ms. Hinton is the author of many famous books for young adults, including The Outsiders, Rumble
Fish, Tex, Taming the Star Runner, and That Was Then, This Is Ncrw, all of which were chosen as Best
Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. She lives in Tulsa.
It's the Fourth of July by Stan Hoig
Professor emeritus of Journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma, Dr. Hoig is a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, and an award-winning author of numerous books about
Western and Native AmeriCan subjects. He won the Oklahoma Book Award for A Capital for the
Nation in 1991. Hoiglives in Edmond with his wife, Patricia Corbell Hoig, who assists him in his work.
Black Women of the Old West by William Loren Katz
As in his path breaking Black Indians, William Loren Katz, traces this fascinating American story
through old records, newspaper clippings, pioneer reminiscences and dozens of rare frontier
photographs. Mr. Katz lives in New York City.
Moontellers: Myths of the moon from around the world by Lynn Moroney
Ms. Moroney fell in love with the sky as a child on the Oklahoma prairie, and during her five years
with the Kirkpatrick Planetarium in Oklahoma City, Lynn began gathering legends about the sun,
moon, stars, and sky. She is now a professional storyteller and writer, and a citizen of the Chickasaw
Nation, who has lived most of her life in Oklahoma.
Graveyard Girl by Anna Myers
Ms. Myers's insight and warmth make Graveyard Girl a deeply moving portrait of three young people
and their struggle to persevere in the face of tragedy. Her first novel, Red-Dirt Jessie won the
Oklahoma Book Award in 1993. Ms. Myers is an eighth grade teacher who lives with her family in
Chandler.
Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis Regan
Ms. Regan is the author of many books for younger readers, including Home for the Hcrwl-i-days and
the Ghost Twins series. She began writing Princess Nevermore as a short story in 1975. Ms. Regan, a
Colorado native, lives in Edmond.
The Book Of North American Owls by Helen Roney Sattler
Ms. Sattler taught elementary school and was a children's librarian before beginning her writing
career with stories for her children. She is the respected author of more than thirty natural history
books for children. She lived in Bartlesville until her death in 1992.
Gingerbread Days by Joyce Carol Thomas
Ms. Thomas was born in Ponca City and later moved to the San Joaquin Valley in California. She was
honored with the National Book Award for her first novel, Marked By Fire. Ms. Thomas makes her
home in Berkeley, California, near her family.
Watchdog and the Coyotes by Bill Wallace
Mr. Wallace was a principal and physical education teacher at the same elementary school he
attended as a child in his hometown of Chickasha. The Wallace family spends spare time fishing,
quail hunting, or tending cattle on the family farm. Wallace lectures at schools around the country,
answers mail from his readers, and, of course, works on his books.
I
NON-FICTION -----------------------
The Osage And The Invisible World
From the works of Francis La Flesche, introduced and edited by Garrick A. Balley
In this book, Mr. Bailey brings together in a clear, understandable way La flesche's data for two
important Osage religious ceremonies - the "Songs of Wa-xo'-be," an initiation into a clan
priesthood, and the Rite of the Chiefs, an initiation into a tribal priesthood. Bailey, professor of
Anthropology at the University of Tulsa, has studied the Osage for more than twenty-five years.
Indian Territory and the United States, 1866-1906 by Jeffrey Burton
This innovative re-appraisal of federal courts in Indian Territory shows how the U.5. Congress used
judicial reform to suppress the Five Tribes' governments and clear the way for Oklahoma statehood.
Burton, an honors graduate of London University, is an independent scholar living near Portsmouth,
England.
Seeking Pleasure In The Old West by David Dary
Dary has written six books about the West, including Cawboy Culture, which received the Cowboy
Hall of Fame Wrangler Award, the Western Writers of America's Spur Award, and the Westerners
International Award. He is currently head of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at
the University of Oklahoma.
Aunt Carrie's War Against Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant by Carrie Barefoot Dickerson
Ms. Dickerson's qualifications to become a successful legal intervenor against nuclear power were
meager when she began her war against the Black Fox plant. At age 56, she was a farm wife, former
school teacher, registered nurse, and operated Aunt Carrie's Nursing Home in Claremore. The nine­year
battle changed her life and depleted her savings. Today, at 78, she earns her living by teaching
quilting and selling herbal products. She continues her vigilance; recently she has been active in
efforts,to prevent dumping of nuclear wastes on tribal land.
Lost Bird of Wounded Knee by Renee Sansom Flood
In this significant work of history, Ms. flood movingly narrates the story of Lost Bird, who has
become a symbol for thousands of children adopted away from their tribes and, indeed, for all people
who have lost their heritage through social injustice, ignorance, and war. Ms. flood is the author of
six books of history, and lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
T.C. Cannon: He Stood in the Sun by Joan Frederick
Ms. Frederick is an active member of the community surrounding Native American art. With a
degree in art education from the University of Oklahoma, she began writing about art and artists in
1987. She is most proud of the preservation projects she has done in Indian art and culture, including
an oral history of traditional Indian painting in Oklahoma. She lives in San Antonio.
Beyond the Hills: The Journey of Waite Phillips by Michael Wallis
A historian and biographer, Mr. Wallis has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize and was
also a nominee for the National Book Award. In 1994, he was honored by Rogers State College in
Claremore with the prestigious Lynn Riggs Award given for his deep commitment to the improve­ment
of the arts in Oklahoma. He was also the first inductee into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame.
A Missouri native, he has lived in Tulsa since 1982.
Land of Plenty: Oklahomans in the Cotton Fields of Arizona, 1933-1942 by Marsha L. Weisiger
Ms. Weisiger tells the story of displaced tenant fanners and sharecroppers from Oklahoma and other
south-central states who migrated to the cotton fields of central Arizona during the Great Depression.
Ms. Weisiger, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received her M.A. degree
from the University of Oklahoma.
Cherokee Outlet Cowboy by Laban Samuel Records, edited by Ellen Jayne Maris Wheeler
'''The great open range that I knew so well, worked on so hard and loved so much has vanished, as
have the signs of the old cow trail," Records concludes. Perhaps, but thanks to Ellen Jayne Maris
Wheeler's organization of these stories, and to Mr. Records' colorful and entertaining writing, the
readers of Cherokee Outlet Cowboy can still ride the range and see the old cow trail for themselves. Dr.
Wheeler is Records' grand-daughter, and is professor of voice at Oklahoma Oty University.
A Very Small Farm by William Paul Winchester
In these pages, Winchester shares his meditations about the life of the small farmer - a life richly
experienced. His philosophy, like his lifestyle, is simple and yet profound. Winchester is a graduate
of the University of Tulsa with a degree in botany. His essays have appeared in Country Journal,
Buying America Back, Oklahoma Today, and elsewhere. His fann is near Collinsville.
DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION -------------------
Gingerbread Days Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Floyd Cooper was born and grew up in Tulsa. He received a degree in fine arts from the University
of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. In 1984,
he moved to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator of books and now lives with his family
in West Orange, New Jersey.
Green Snake Ceremony Illustrated by Kim Doner
Kim Doner, who lives in Tulsa, is a member of the Arts and Humanities" Artist in the Schools"
program. She visits schools presenting the process of how children's books are made, from the story
idea to the art to the finished product. Living with two teenage~s and five animals, she regards her
life as unpredictable, and lots of fun.
How Turtle's Back was Cracked Illustrated by Murv Jacob
Murv Jacob is a painter and pipe maker of both Kentucky Cherokee and European heritage. His
meticulously researched, brightly colored, and richly patterned paintings draw on the traditional
Southeastern Indian cultures. He lives with his wife and four children in Tahlequah.
Songdog Diary: 66 Stories from the Road Designed and illustrated by Carol Stanton
Ms. Stanton, who currently lives in St. Louis, is a graduate of the University of Tulsa with degrees
in art and English. She served as the art director at Council Oak Books in Tulsa until moving to St.
Louis.
Doesn't Fall Off His Horse Written and illustrated by Virginia A. Stroud
Ms. Stroud's paintings and prints are widely collected; her work has received awards, ribbons, and
medals, and has been shown in museums throughout the Southwest. She has been honored as the
Indian Arts and Crafts Association's Artist of the Year.
FICTION ----------------------------------------------------
Double Jeopardy by William Bernhardt
Mr. Bernhardt knows the law, and understands inside and out the people who enfo rceit-andthose
who bend and break it. He received the Oklahoma Book Award for fiction in 1995 for Perfect Justice.
He earned his law degree at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and lives in Tulsa.
Seven Black Stones by Jean Hagar
Seven Black Stones captures the confluences of the traditional and the modern forces in contemporary
Cherokee life. With its powerful sense of time and place, this mystery delves into the issues between
men and women, lovers and family that are common to us all. Ms. Hagar is the author of two previous
Molly Bearpaw novels. She lives in Tulsa.
On Second Thought by Maurice Kenny
This contemporary American Indian literature collection includes old and new favorites in poetry,
fiction, criticism, and political commentary. Mr. Kenny makes his home at Saranac Lake, in the heart
of New York's Adirondack Park, close to the natural subjects and the Colonial Indian history that
have inspired him.
The White Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Ms. Lackey is a full-time writer and has published numerous novels and works of short fiction. Her
husband and collaborator, Larry Dixon, has been a professional artist for more than a decade,
specializing in wildlife, military, and automotive art, as well as science fiction and fantasy. They live
in Oaremore.
Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts
Where The Heart Is puts a human face on the look-alike trailer parks of America's small towns. It is
a story about the strength of friendship, the goodness of down-to-earth people, and the healing power
of love. Ms. Letts is the author of numerous highly acclaimed short stories and screenplays. She lives
in Durant and teaches creative writing at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. .
Forged in Honor by Leonard B Scott
Bestselling author Leonard B. Scott once again combines world events, high-tech intelligence, and
guerrilla warfare to produce a fast-paced military thriller about honor and courage. Scott retired in
1994 as a full Colonel after twenty-seven years in the U.S. Army. A veteran of Vietnam, he earned the
Silver Star and Purple Heart. Scott lives in Edmond.
The Way We Know In Dreams by Gordon Weaver
In his seventh short fiction collection, Weaver presents characters whose cries are so human, raw and
mordant, the reader forgets the fiction and is delivered inside the experience. Weaver is the author
of Men Who Would Be Good, which was named a New York Times Notable Book for 1992. Until his
retirement last year, he taught at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Previous Oklahoma Book Award Winners
Fiction:
1990, Robert Love Taylor, The Lost Sister
1991, linda Hogan, Mean Spirit
1992, Robert L. Duncan, The Serpent's Mark
1993, Rilla Askew, Strange Business
1994, Eve Sandstrom, Dawn Home Heifer Heist
1995, William Bernhardt, Perfect Justice
Non-Fiction:
1990, Leonard Leff, Hitchcock & Selznick
1991, Carl Albert and Danney Goble, Little Giant
1992, David Morgan, Robert England, and George Humphreys,
Oklahoma Politics & Policies: Governing the Sooner State
1993, Henry Bellmon and Pat Bellmon, The Life and Times of Henry Bellman:
and Daniel Boorstin, The Creators
1994, J. Brent Oark, 3rd Dawn and Forever
1995, Dennis McAuliffe Jr., The Deaths of Sybil Bolton
Poetry/Playwriting:
1990, William Kistler, The Elizabeth Sequence
1992, Carol Hamilton, Once the Dust
1993, Jim Barnes, The Sauxiust War
1994, Carter Revard, An Eagle Nation
1995, Joy Harjo, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky
Design! Illustration:
1990, David E. Hunt, The Lithographs of Charles Banks Wilson
1991, Carol Haralson, Cleara's Kitchens
1992, Joe Williams, Woolaroc
1993, Carol Haralson, Will Rogers: Courtship and Correspondence;
and Kandy Radzinski, The Twelve Cats of Christmas
1994, Deloss McGraw, Fish Story
1995, Mike Wimmer, All the Places to Lave
Children! Young Adult
1990, Helen Roney Sattler, Tyrannosaurus Rex and His Kin
1991, Stan Hoig, A Capitol for the Nation
1992, Jess and Bonnie Speer, Hillback to Boggy
1993, Anna Myers, Red Dirt Jessie
1994, Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, Cherokee Summer
1995, Russell G. Davis and BrentAshabranner, The Choctaw Ccxle
Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award:
1990, Daniel Boorstin, Librarian of Congress Emeritus, native of Tulsa
1991, Tony Hillennan, mystery writer, native of Sacred Heart
1992, Savoie Lottinvi1le, Director of the University of Oklahoma Press for 30 years
1993, Harold Keith, Newbery Award-winning children's author, Nonnan
1994, N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize-winning Kiowa author, native of Lawton
1995, RA. Lafferty, Hugo Award-winning author, Tulsa.
OKLAHOMA
lA' CENTER FOR THE BooK
't' In addition to the Oklahoma Book Awards, other Center projects include:
• The Official State Literary Map of Oklahoma, produced as part of the National
lAnguage of the lAnd Literary Heritage project in 1994. Hundreds have been
sold and are used in classrooms across the state.
• National Young Readers Day. Thousands of Oklahoma children have participated
in this annual event, sponsored locally by the Oklahoma Reading
Association, the Center and other agencies and organizations.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book is supported by memberships and donations.
For additional information, contact the Center at 1-800-522-8116.
The Oklahoma Center for the Book wishes to thank
the judges for the 1996 competition. They were:
Doug Bentin
Kay Boies
Tom Buckley
David Clark
Aarone Corwin
Evelyn Davis
Bettie Estes-Rickner
Sonja Fowler
Karyn Gilman
Christopher Givan
Ann Hamilton
Rosemary Hardy
James Herring
Gary Himes
Julie Hovis
Ann Hunt
Ken Jackson
Mary McAnally
B. Byron Price
Jean Richardson
DeWayne Smoot
Leah Taylor
James R. Tolbert ill
Mary Woodman
William R. Young
The Oklahoma Center for the Book acknowledges the generous
contributions of the following organizations and individuals:
Best of Books, Edmond
Bollinger's Books, Oklahoma City
Full Circle Books, Oklahoma City
National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center
Oklahoma Department of Ubraries, Office of Public Information
Oklahoma Independent Booksellers Association
Steve's Books, Tulsa
Very special thanks to the ceremony committee:
Diane Canavan, chair
Liz Codding
Sonja Fuwler
Proceeds from tonight's book sales will benefit the Oklahoma Center for the Book