I’m writing a story that’s set on a farm in 1936 in Oklahoma. I want to get a sense of what life was like back then, and also, very importantly, a sense for how people, especially kids would have talked at that time and place. Does anybody have any good book recommendations, either fiction or non-fiction?
I’ve got Grapes of Wrath on my list. Anything else? Thanks for your help.
Woody Guthrie’s autobiography, Bound For Glory is an amazing resource for that timeframe and location. Woody wrote like he talked, though, so it’s in a fairly dense (but authentic) dialect but you get used to it pretty quickly. It’s an amazing read that will definitely give you a true sense of the era.
If you’re not familiar with WG, here’s a brief synopsis of his life & times:
Set in Georgia, not Oklahoma, but my Dad (a country boy born in 1920) used to vouch for the accuracy of Run With the Horsemen, a semi-autobiographical novel by Ferrol Sams.
Oklahoma has some historical connections with and cultural similarities to Georgia, in my experience. There’s the Trail of Tears, of course, but also Oklahoma was a popular destination for many westward-moving Georgians in the early part of the last century, among them my grandfather (who eventually moved back to Georgia) and the family of Pretty Boy Floyd (who stayed).
Also, you might want to look for some Will Rogers clips on YouTube or elsewhere. Will Rogers, as I imagine you probably know, was a sort of Oklahoma cowboy version of Jon Stewart.
I just finished The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan. He focuses on the experiences of farmers, ranchers and townsmen in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Dust Bowl. Based in part on extensive interviews with people who lived there at that time. I can’t recommend it enough.
picker, thanks for the info about Guthrie. Doh! I can’t believe I didn’t think of him.
spoke-, that’s interesting. I’ll have to check out that book. Hmm, maybe the library might have recordings of Rogers.
Pork Rind, that book sounds like it will be extremely helpful.
Thanks for the help everyone. I’m off to bed now, but if anyone has anything to add to the thread, I’d be very grateful.
Incidentally, I’m betting kids in 1930s Oklahoma would have idolized outlaws like Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, the Barker Gang and John Dillinger. They seem to have had a sort of rock star status among kids, from what I can gather from my dad. (On the other hand, it looks like they were all dead by '35.)
St. Louis Cardinals baseball would likely have been a topic of conversation, too, and especially their colorful pitcher Dizzy Dean. Dean was from Arkansas, and later became the announcer for the Cardinals. If you can find recordings of him, it might also give you some insight into the speaking mode of the era and the region.
Dean’s brother Daffy Dean was also a celebrity Cardinals player.
Second that. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although there weren’t many happy bits in it and it got a bit depressing.
Reminds me of the episode of the Brady Bunch where Jesse James mowed down the Bradys. 
That has some interesting possibilities. I’ll have to think about moving the story to an earlier date.
This is so obscure and likely out of print that I’m not even sure why I’m bringing it up, but there is a little known author named Patty Lou Floyd who wrote a collection of short stories, collected in “The Silver DeSoto.” They largely center around her teenage years in Duncan, Oklahoma during the dust bowl (Duncan is a smallish town in the southern part of the state, a little east of Lawton). The only reason I’ve even heard of this person is because I was required to read several stories from this collection when I was in high school 
Bear in mind, I’m not saying these stories are a monumental contribution to American literature, but aside from all the obvious works that have already been mentioned in this thread, this is what popped in my head and seems to fit the bill for what you’re looking for. If you happen to stumble across it in a 25 cent bin somewhere it might be worth your while.