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Edmon Low Library

Episode 1: Deborah J. Hunter - Nothing Stays Buried Forever

September 27, 2018

Show Notes

In this episode, poet and actor Deborah J. Hunter reads two poems based on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that she wrote and performed in Tara Brooke Watkins’ play, “Tulsa 21: Black Wall Street.” Lindsey and Emily talk to Deborah about the use of the word “massacre” versus “riot” and discuss what it means to confront this violent, painful, and hidden moment of Oklahoma’s history through poetry. 

Show Host

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Lindsey Claire Smith and Emily Blackshear

Dr. Lindsey Claire Smith, Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma State University, directs the Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa. The Center is a literary arts outreach program that hosts events with diverse writers, residencies for teaching artists in schools, and writing workshops for the general public. Lindsey is a native Tulsan, a product of Tulsa Public schools, and the daughter of two TPS English teacher parents. Lindsey has extensive expertise in Native American and Indigenous studies, especially Oklahoma literature, and has authored three books and numerous other publications on writers and filmmakers of this region. She serves as Editor of American Indian Quarterly journal.

Dr. Emily Blackshear joined the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Oklahoma State University Library in September 2017. She directs the Deep Roots: Oklahoma Authors Oral History Project and serves as an interviewer for other projects including the Inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame and the Spotlighting Oklahoma series.



Recommended Resources

  • Oklahoma Oral History Research Program
  • Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa
  • Tulsa 21: Black Wall Street
  • Deborah J. Hunter Performs Jazz on a Diamond Needle Hi-Fi
  • Greenwood Cultural Center: 1921 Tulsa Race Riot
  • What's in a Name? Massacre or Riot?