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Edmon Low Library

Episode 3: Kate Strum - Spiritual Affliction

December 27, 2018

In this episode, Kate Strum reads her Pushcart Prize-nominated essay, “Spiritual Affliction: A Thank You Note to Oklahoma.” Lindsey and Emily talk to Kate about the meaning of home, why the poetry of Simon Ortiz matters, and the occasional hazards of telling neighbors that you’re a writer.  

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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.